Yikes! I was reading the December issue of Control Magazine on the plane and got to the section with blurbs on new vendor product offerings, pages 56-57. Two items jumped out.

CT WebHMI provides secure, realtime access to plant floor data from any Internet connection worldwide. The bi-directional interface lets remote users adjust switches and dials, enter data change recipe settings, and fully interact with the project from the remote browser interface.

A very bad idea to allow control of your process from Internet. A bad idea to let a direct connection from the Internet to your control network. It’s very surprising and disturbing to see a vendor pushing this.

The xCoupler Enterprise Transaction Module . . . operating system is virtually immune to security problems and virus attacks.

This would be very nice, but it is an extremely bold claim. Where is the proof of this? What third party has reviewed this. Given the problems that are rampant in many systems, it is hard to believe an untested, proprietary systems claims by emphatic assertion.