How does zenon improve cybersecurity for existing production lines?

zenon's compatibility strategy enables manufacturers to introduce secure authentication, logging, communication, and backup capabilities into existing automation projects while minimizing operational disruption. This makes cybersecurity improvements practical even for brownfield production environments.

How can manufacturers improve cybersecurity for legacy manufacturing systems?

A practical first step is to assess existing production assets, identify critical systems, introduce structured user management, implement centralized logging, and validate backup procedures. Manufacturers can then expand toward network segmentation, continuous monitoring, and incident response planning using zenon as a secure digitalization platform. This phased approach helps strengthen manufacturing OT cybersecurity while minimizing disruption to existing operations.

Can zenon support IEC 62443 certification?

zenon is developed according to IEC 62443-4-1 and includes security capabilities aligned with IEC 62443-4-2. These features support machine builders and plant operators implementing IEC 62443-compliant automation solutions.

How does zenon support NIS2?

zenon contributes centralized monitoring, event logging, authentication, backup management, recovery procedures, and security documentation that fit into broader NIS2 risk management and incident response programs.

Why is OT cybersecurity different from IT cybersecurity?

Manufacturing systems prioritize continuous availability and operational safety. OT cybersecurity therefore focuses on protecting production processes while minimizing downtime, making secure engineering, user management and resilient system design especially important.

How does zenon support the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)?

zenon supports manufacturers and system integrators in addressing the regulatory requirements through secure-by-design development practices, cybersecurity features and long-term software lifecycle management. Capabilities such as authentication, role-based access control, encrypted communication, event logging, and backup functionality help organizations establish stronger cybersecurity processes and maintain secure industrial operations throughout the product lifecycle.

How can manufacturers integrate zenon into a broader IT/OT cybersecurity architecture?

Manufacturers can integrate zenon into a defense-in-depth cybersecurity strategy by combining it with network segmentation, role-based access control, secure communications, centralized monitoring (SIEM), and industry best practices such as IEC 62443. This helps strengthen security across both IT and OT environments while maintaining reliable operations.

Cybersecurity in manufacturing with zenon

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By combining secure engineering, centralized user management, encrypted communication, audit-ready logging and long-term compatibility, zenon enables manufacturers to integrate cybersecurity into everyday operations without compromising production availability.

Unlike traditional IT security tools, zenon is designed specifically for operational technology (OT), where systems must remain continuously available while protecting safety-critical processes, intellectual property, and product quality.

These companies use zenon

Why are cyber risks rising in manufacturing?

Modern manufacturing increasingly relies on connected production lines, IIoT devices, cloud connectivity and integrated MES and ERP systems. While these technologies improve efficiency and transparency, they also expand the attack surface available to cybercriminals, making cybersecurity an essential part of modern industrial operations.

Many production facilities continue to operate equipment that has been in service for decades. These legacy assets often lack modern authentication, encryption and monitoring capabilities but are now connected to wider enterprise networks, increasing the need for effective cybersecurity for legacy manufacturing systems.
At the same time, regulations such as NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) require manufacturers to demonstrate continuous risk management, incident reporting, secure development and lifecycle management rather than treating security as a one-time compliance exercise.

One observation from industrial digitalization projects is that the most difficult cybersecurity challenge is rarely connecting new machines, it is securely integrating existing production assets without disrupting operations. For most manufacturers, maintaining production continuity is just as critical as improving security.

What is OT cybersecurity?

Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity protects industrial control systems, including PLCs, HMIs, SCADA software, industrial networks and connected production assets, from unauthorized access, malware, process manipulation and operational disruption while maintaining safe and continuous production.

Unlike enterprise IT, OT cybersecurity must balance confidentiality with availability and safety. Security controls must protect production without introducing unacceptable downtime or operational complexity.

Why manufacturing requires OT-specific cybersecurity

Traditional IT security measures alone cannot adequately protect manufacturing environments. Industrial systems often communicate using proprietary protocols, operate continuously for years without interruption, and support safety-critical production processes.

zenon has been engineered specifically for these requirements by combining:

• Secure user administration
• Encrypted communication
• Audit-ready event logging
• High-availability concepts
• Secure engineering workflows
• Integration with existing OT and IT infrastructures

This OT-centric approach helps manufacturers build a unified security architecture across engineering, operations, and IT while preserving production performance.

Protecting brownfield and legacy equipment

Most manufacturing sites cannot rip out and replace older equipment simply to improve cybersecurity. Production systems usually must remain operational for many years, making gradual modernization essential.

zenon's compatibility strategy supports the introduction of modern security capabilities into existing automation projects without requiring complete system redesigns. Forward and backward compatibility simplify upgrades, while reducing engineering effort and operational risk.

Project versioning and backup and restore capabilities help manufacturers validate changes before deployment, simplify rollback procedures and improve disaster recovery planning. Based on industrial modernization projects, careful version management and tested rollback procedures often reduce operational risk more effectively than large-scale infrastructure replacements.

Manufacturing challenge	Operational impact	How zenon helps
Unauthorized HMI or engineering access	Unsafe parameter changes, recipe modifications and production errors	Role-based authentication, granular permissions and complete audit trails
Ransomware	Production downtime and configuration loss	Secure architectures, project backups and rapid restoration capabilities
Process data manipulation	Incorrect quality decisions and compliance issues	Event logging, auditing and integrity verification
Insider threats	Unauthorized engineering changes	Individual user accounts, traceability and least-privilege administration
Legacy system exposure	Increased attack surface	Compatibility strategy supporting phased modernization

Security features in the zenon software platform

Manufacturers need cybersecurity controls that integrate naturally into existing operations rather than adding unnecessary complexity.

zenon provides:
• Local and domain-based authentication
• Role-based access control
• Granular authorization management
• Secure communication using encrypted protocols
• Certificate management
• Centralized event logging
• Project versioning
• Backup and restore functionality
• Long-term compatibility across software generations

These capabilities support defense-in-depth strategies while allowing engineering teams to continue working within familiar workflows.

Standards and regulations: IEC 62443, NIS2, CRA

Cybersecurity regulations increasingly require manufacturers to implement structured security processes throughout the system lifecycle, including secure development, operation, vulnerability management and maintenance. As a result, manufacturing cybersecurity compliance has become a strategic requirement for industrial organizations.
zenon is developed according to IEC 62443-4-1, the secure development lifecycle standard for industrial automation software. COPA-DATA also provides mappings to IEC 62443-4-2 security requirements, supporting IEC 62443 manufacturing projects for manufacturers and machine builders.

For NIS2 compliance in manufacturing, zenon supports:
• Risk management
• Authentication and authorization
• Secure communication
• Centralized logging
• Backup and recovery
• Security documentation
• Integration with SIEM and SOC platforms

The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) introduces cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements, including secure development, vulnerability management, security updates, and lifecycle support. zenon helps manufacturers address CRA compliance in manufacturing. zenon’s capabilities help machine builders strengthen the cybersecurity of their industrial automation solutions. Use of zenon also supports Cyber Resilience Act manufacturer obligations through secure engineering practices and capabilities such as access control, encrypted communication, event logging, and backup functionality.

By supporting multiple cybersecurity frameworks simultaneously, zenon helps manufacturers build resilient industrial environments while maintaining secure and reliable operations.

Features explained

Manufacturers need cybersecurity controls that integrate naturally into existing operations rather than adding unnecessary complexity.

Features mapped to manufacturing needs:

Manufacturing requirement	zenon capability
Secure Recipe Management	Recipe Administration & the zenon Recipegroup Manager
Auditability and Traceability	Sophisticated Alarm Administration
IEC 62443 Requirements	IEC 62443 Security Certificate for COPA-DATA
Secure Modernization	Compatibility for Future-Proof Projects
Disaster Recovery	How NIS2 is redefining cybersecurity for industrial systems
Operational Monitoring	Sophisticated Alarm Administration
Production Visibility	zenon Dashboard Service

Solutions from COPA-DATA

COPA-DATA helps manufacturers strengthen cybersecurity in manufacturing with zenon, a secure-by-design software platform for industrial automation and operational technology (OT). zenon helps manufacturers connect and modernize legacy production systems while supporting secure user management, encrypted communication, event logging, backup and recovery, and long-term system compatibility.

With more than 30 years of experience in industrial software development, COPA-DATA continuously evolves zenon to address changing technology, cybersecurity and regulatory requirements. This makes zenon suitable for manufacturers looking to improve manufacturing OT cybersecurity, strengthen cybersecurity for legacy manufacturing systems, and support requirements such as IEC 62443, NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

FAQs

zenon's compatibility strategy enables manufacturers to introduce secure authentication, logging, communication, and backup capabilities into existing automation projects while minimizing operational disruption. This makes cybersecurity improvements practical even for brownfield production environments.
zenon is developed according to IEC 62443-4-1 and includes security capabilities aligned with IEC 62443-4-2. These features support machine builders and plant operators implementing IEC 62443-compliant automation solutions.
Manufacturing systems prioritize continuous availability and operational safety. OT cybersecurity therefore focuses on protecting production processes while minimizing downtime, making secure engineering, user management and resilient system design especially important.
Manufacturers can integrate zenon into a defense-in-depth cybersecurity strategy by combining it with network segmentation, role-based access control, secure communications, centralized monitoring (SIEM), and industry best practices such as IEC 62443. This helps strengthen security across both IT and OT environments while maintaining reliable operations.

A practical first step is to assess existing production assets, identify critical systems, introduce structured user management, implement centralized logging, and validate backup procedures. Manufacturers can then expand toward network segmentation, continuous monitoring, and incident response planning using zenon as a secure digitalization platform. This phased approach helps strengthen manufacturing OT cybersecurity while minimizing disruption to existing operations.
zenon contributes centralized monitoring, event logging, authentication, backup management, recovery procedures, and security documentation that fit into broader NIS2 risk management and incident response programs.
zenon supports manufacturers and system integrators in addressing the regulatory requirements through secure-by-design development practices, cybersecurity features and long-term software lifecycle management. Capabilities such as authentication, role-based access control, encrypted communication, event logging, and backup functionality help organizations establish stronger cybersecurity processes and maintain secure industrial operations throughout the product lifecycle.

I'm COPA-DATA's AI Assistant and happy to help with general info. Got any questions?