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Since the mid to late 1990s, the standard for structured cabling systems for voice and data applications has been four-pair, balanced UTP, ScTP, or Sc/FTP cable, which these days supports up to 40Gbps on 30m of cable. This standard meets the myriad of bandwidth needs of users.

With the explosion of the IoT and the push toward smart systems, we suddenly have low-speed devices that require very little bandwidth—things like sensors, actuators, and relays, as well as access, occupancy, and lighting applications. As a result, operations technology (OT) professionals cried out for a simpler, low-cost, space-efficient cabling alternative for these low-speed use cases.

In response to this need, the IEEE (in November 2019) approved the 802.3cg single pair Ethernet protocol. This specification lengthens the reach of the Ethernet physical layers at the low end of the bandwidth spectrum. Single pair Ethernet (also called “twisted pair” or SPE) is a cable configuration that:

• Uses one pair of wires
• Channels data at speeds of up to 10Mbps
• Supports up to 52W of power
• Covers distances up to 1,000m

Also, the IEEE 802.3cg standard is compatible with the existing Ethernet standards. It maintains the same packet format, size, temperature, and emission standards. It supports auto-negotiation between endpoints on point-to-point links, and it supports PoE.

Link-Layer Standards

IEEE 802.3cg specifications call for two link-layer standards: 10Base-T1S and 10Base-T1L. Both standards support speeds up to 10Mbps over a single twisted pair.

10Base-T1S

The 10Base-T1S, also called 10SPE (10Mbps Single Pair Ethernet) standard is for networks that do not require high data rates. The “S” stands for short-range.

10Base-T1S employs a multidrop configuration in which each node connects to a single cable, which eliminates the need for a switch and calls for fewer lines. Each cable uses only one pair of wires, instead of the traditional standard of four pairs. This single pair connection can even be installed on a printed circuit board.

The 10Base-T1S protocol specifies the following:

• At least eight nodes must be connected; however, the

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to bring tremendous innovation; it also brings new challenges. These innovations and challenges are most apparent in today’s manufacturing landscape.

Factories worldwide are increasingly shifting to the connectivity of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to supervise their manufacturing operations more closely. While this digital transformation brings significant efficiencies, it also brings the potential for security risks. Devices with sophisticated operational abilities are a primary target for bad actors looking to attack the global supply chain.

Many major manufacturing companies have been victims of cyberattacks. Here are a few examples:

1. The New York-based manufacturer, OXO International, uncovered a breach that took place between June 2017 and October 2018. The company discovered malicious code on its website designed to steal customer data such as payment card information and addresses.
2. Visser Precision, a space and defense manufacturing company, suffered a DoppelPaymer ransomware attack around April 2019. This type of ransomware encrypts and removes data and is believed to have originated in Russia. Research of the episode revealed that sensitive non-disclosure agreements with Tesla, SpaceX, and General Dynamics were stolen and published on hackers’ websites. In addition to the non-disclosure agreements, the hack included a schematic for a missile antenna from Lockheed Martin.
3. In 2017, the Renault-Nissan company sustained a WannaCry ransomware cyberattack at four of their European plants and one plant in India. All automotive production was halted in these plants for three days at the cost of $400 million.

According to the IBM report entitled X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 :

“Operational technology (OT) attacks surged 2,000 percent year-over-year. Threat actors continue to shift their sights to attack vectors, including IoT, OT, and connected industrial and medical systems.”1

Further, Sikich’s 2020 Manufacturing and Distribution (M&D) Report published the following statistics:

• Two-thirds of the companies in their study reported the use of connectivity/IoT.
• Thirty-seven percent of the companies took a variety of actions to enhance cybersecurity.
• Forty-five of the companies experienced cyberattacks within the last 12 months.₂

Industrial IoT Threats

The IIoT has markedly improved the service delivery and productivity of industrial enterprises. It is also true that anything connected to the internet is susceptible to cyber threats. Some of the most vulnerable operating systems include:

• Industrial control systems (ICS)
• Programmable logic controllers (PLC)
• Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
• Human-machine interfaces (HMI)

Cyberattacks That Focus on IIoT Infrastructure

1. Man-in-the-middle: Attackers place themselves into communications between two systems. In an industrial setting, the goal could be to control a smart actuator, knock an industrial robot out of its lane, or change its speed limit, damaging an assembly line and even injuring workers.
2. Device hijacking: Simply put, the attacker takes control of a device. For example, a hijacker takes control of a meter and uses it to launch ransomware attacks against an Energy Management System (EMS) or siphon unmetered power lines.
3. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): This type of attack shuts down a machine or network by inundating it with traffic. DDoS attacks can affect a broad range of IIoT devices, causing severe disruptions to the factory floor.
4. Permanent Denial of Service (PDoS): A PDoS attack damages the target device so severely that it needs replacement. An example of this type of malware is BrickerBot—used to exploit hard-coded passwords in IoT devices—which disables vital equipment on a factory floor.

Securing IIoT

IIoT infrastructure should be simple, workable, and, of course, secure. Security solutions should include the following:

Secure Boot

Secure boot is a security mechanism that only uses cryptographic code signing techniques to ensure that a device executes code generated by its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or another trusted party. This technology subverts attacks by preventing hackers from replacing firmware with malicious instruction sets. It is important to note that not all IIoT chipsets come with secure boot; therefore, it may be necessary to make sure an IIoT device communicates with authorized services.

Mutual Authentication

Mutual authentication, also called two-way authentication, ensures that data originates from a legitimate device. With this process, both the device and service must exchange and verify each other’s identity.

End-to-End Encryption

Data that travels between a device and the cloud must be secure. The utilization of encryption ensures that only those with a decryption key can access transmitted data. For example, a smart actuator sending data to the SCADA must be able to prevent eavesdropping.

Security Monitoring

Security monitoring involves surveilling the general state of an industrial system—particularly endpoint devices and connectivity traffic. Data is collected and then analyzed to expose potential security threats. Should a threat be detected, a wide range of actions are initiated, such as revoking device credentials or quarantining an IoT device. This automatic monitor-analyze-act cycle can happen in real-time or at a later date.

Lifecycle

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The latest generation of Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax), which launched in the fall of 2019 and is now inching into the commercial market at a steady pace. In addition, we will soon be seeing Wi-Fi 6E, the first amendment of IEEE 802.11ax to support the state-of-the-art 6 GHz radio spectrum band. Even with all this new technology in the works, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)—which develops Wi-Fi engineering standards—and the Wi-Fi Alliance—which certifies Wi-Fi technology—are in the process of planning for the prospect of Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be).

According to the IEEE:

While customers rivet their eyes on Wi-Fi 6, in the bowels of the IEEE 802.11 Working Group that creates Wi-Fi standards, the next generation Wi-Fi is being developed. At the very first sight, the new IEEE 802.11be amendment to the Wi-Fi standard is nothing but scaled 11ax with doubled bandwidth and the increased number of spatial streams, which together provide data rates as high as 40 Gbps.

A bit deeper dive into the 802.11 activities reveals that 11be will support real-time applications. In reality, 11be introduces many more revolutionary changes to Wi-Fi, which will form a basement for further Wi-Fi evolution.

Although by now (May 2020), the development process is at the very early phase without any draft specification, the analysis of the discussion in the 802.11 Working Group gives insights into the main innovations of 11be. In addition to the ones above, they include native multi-link operation, channel sounding optimization that opens the door for massive MIMO, advanced PHY and MAC techniques, the cooperation of various access points.

The Basics of Wi-Fi 7

First, it is important to note that the Wi-Fi Alliance recently simplified the naming protocol of the mainstream Wi-Fi standards as follows:

• 802.11n: Wi-Fi 4
• 802.11ac: Wi-Fi 5
• 802.11ax: Wi-Fi 6
• 802.11be: Wi-Fi 7

The IEEE formed the IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Working Group in the fall of 2018. They have ambitious goals and must meet stiff requirements that meet ever-changing connectivity needs.

For Wi-Fi to remain a leading connectivity technology, it is vital to continually improve the user experience by enhancing performance, increasing spectrum efficiency, and reducing costs. These are the goals of Wi-Fi 7. The IEEE has much work to do to approve and publish 802.11be by their projected date of mid-2024.

Let’s take a look at where Wi-Fi is heading.

Projected Wi-Fi 7 Enhancements

It is common practice to begin developing future wireless technologies at the same time the latest standard emerges into the marketplace. Wi-Fi 6 is on the verge, so it is time to look to the future—to Wi-Fi 7.

Following are the most significant improvements that Wi-Fi 7 is projected to offer.

MIMO Enhancements

The newly emerging Wi-Fi 6 technology is 40 percent faster than the current mainstream Wi-Fi 5 wireless transmission standard. Wi-Fi 6 introduced the multi-user, multiple-output (MU-MIMO) that supports eight data streams to work simultaneously.

Wi-Fi 7 intends to introduce the coordinated multiuser MIMO (CMU-MIMO), which will support up to 16 data streams on all three frequencies (.i.e., 2.4 GHz, 5GHz, and 6 GHz) at the same time.

Multi-Link Operation

Multi-link Operation (MLO) enables devices to simultaneously transmit and receive across different bands and channels. Wi-Fi 7 seeks to enhance these links by increasing throughput, which is the measurement data between devices in a local network (LAN). MLO will also lower latency (network.server time), and improve reliability.

AP Coordination

The Wi-Fi 7 Working Group is aiming to improve wireless access point (AP) coordination. This type of enhancement may include the following:

• Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMAN)
• Spatial reuse (SR)

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