OVERVIEW

Yokogawa Solution Service provides a variety of solutions and services, from consulting and systems integration to maintenance and management information systems engineering. Established in 2013 as part of the Yokogawa Group, the company maintains, repairs, and constructs measurement and control equipment and devices, aerospace equipment, ships, cars, computers and data processing equipment, medical and office equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and other systems.

One of the pillars of the Yokogawa Group’s business structure is “process co-innovation.” Working with its customers, they co-create solutions that generate added value and accelerate business outcomes through innovations. In 2017, Yokogawa Solution Service unveiled GRANDSIGHT, a cloud-based value co-creation environment, with compact Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) wireless Sushi Sensors that gather a variety of data, such as vibration and temperature, and store it in GRANDSIGHT. “By providing Sushi Sensors together with GRANDSIGHT, we support our customers’ use of IIoT while supporting their mission-critical systems,” said Tomohiro Sakita, General Manager at Yokogawa Solution Service.

CHALLENGES

Yokogawa’s GRANDSIGHT is a cloud-focused environment using platforms such as Google Cloud Platform™ service. Along with the analysis of data gathered by IIoT Sushi Sensors, GRANDSIGHT provides a range of tools including modeling, simulation, and artificial intelligence for the development of new systems. These tools also enable rapid proposal development and decision-making through file sharing and a range of communication methods including chat and video conferencing.

However, customers often use GRANDSIGHT to handle vital information, such as plant operational status and parameters, which made ensuring security in a multi-tenant environment a very important issue. “Even though Google protects the security of the infrastructure, it is our responsibility to control access to the networks that run on it and to protect applications. We felt it was essential for us to implement security measures,” said Tomoji Tateno, MIS Group at Yokogawa Solution Service.

WHY TREND

When Yokogawa began exploring the top security solutions for cloud infrastructures, it discovered Trend Micro™ Deep Security as a Service™ had a proven track record of running on Google Cloud Platform. “When we asked IT departments at other companies in the Yokogawa Group, they told us Deep Security as a Service had a strong track record of use in the cloud and they recommended it,” said Tateno.

In addition, it was essential that the solution provided more than antivirus protection— Yokagawa wanted a solution that could deliver comprehensive security functions across the IIoT environment. “To protect cloud environments, we believe that you absolutely need mechanisms like intrusion detection and prevention systems and web application firewalls to ensure security,” said Tateno. Atsushi Sugitachi, section manager for Yokogawa adds, “You now have to take even more care against attacks and intrusions from external sources.” Deep Security as a Service met the company’s needs.

SOLUTION

Yokogawa’s GRANDSIGHT uses all of the Deep Security as a Service functions, including antivirus capabilities, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), web application firewalls (WAF), tampering detection, and vulnerability countermeasures. These capabilities are also provided to GRANDSIGHT customers as a service, which allows them to establish an environment that ensures safety in system development and communication.

In addition, with centralized visibility, the service reduces workloads across the organization, freeing Yokogawa’s teams to focus on co-creation projects with their customers. “Data from industrial IoT devices and other such information is vital to our customers. With its multiple security functions, Deep Security as a Service is a reassuring ally.” Said Sugitachi.

RESULTS

The results were positive right from the start. To block unauthorized access from external sources, Deep Security as a Service is essential in the GRANDSIGHT environment. If an alert occurs, a framework is in place. Yokogawa Solution Service first responds with its operational maintenance service, then escalates to Trend Micro as necessary. “The fact that nothing has gone wrong so far is a good sign which gives us relief and peace of mind,” said Tateno.

The installation of Deep Security as a Service went smoothly and without any negative impact on existing systems. Although it’s been a while since the solution was implemented, the company has not received any alerts. By using Deep Security as a Service to implement security, Yokogawa Solution Service and their customers have been able to focus on their core business goals—the analysis of data and development of innovative solutions that deliver positive outcomes.

WHAT'S NEXT

Yokogawa Solution Service plans to expand GRANDSIGHT and roll out services also in the Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) layers. “In this process, we plan to keep using Trend Micro Deep Security as a Service, and we are confident that it will deliver the same positive results in these areas,” said Sakita.

The Yokogawa Group is more than a mere vendor for its customers—it considers their relationship a partnership. “If our customers don’t trust Yokogawa, then we can’t co-create value with them. We are confident we can meet our responsibilities to our customers with Deep Security as a Service as our watchman. Its performance gives us all peace of mind,” says Mr. Sakita.