IEC 62443 is the international standard for Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) cybersecurity. It provides a comprehensive framework for securing industrial environments through zone segmentation, conduit protection, Foundational Requirements and Security Level classification.
IEC 62443 (formerly ISA-99) provides a structured methodology for securing Industrial Automation and Control Systems across critical infrastructure sectors — from power generation and oil & gas to advanced manufacturing and transportation.
The standard addresses the complete security lifecycle: risk assessment, zone and conduit design, security requirements, component security, and operational procedures. It is adopted globally by regulators, insurers and enterprise procurement teams as the authoritative reference for industrial cybersecurity governance.
The critical challenge: implementing IEC 62443 correctly requires FR-segmented risk assessment — not a single aggregate risk score. The Cognisec IEC 62443 Engine is the only platform that computes this computationally, per asset and conduit.
IEC 62443 organises all security requirements under 7 Foundational Requirements (FR-1 to FR-7). The Cognisec Engine computes a separate risk index and Target Security Level for each FR — per asset and conduit.
Identification and authentication of all users, software processes and devices before allowing access. Covers MFA, account management and session control.
Enforcement of assigned privileges and prevention of unauthorized access. Role-based access control, least privilege and auditing of privileged actions.
Ensuring the integrity of IACS hardware, software, firmware and communications. File integrity monitoring, secure boot and communication validation.
Protection of information at rest and in transit from unauthorized disclosure. Encryption, key management and data classification for OT environments.
Restriction of data flows across zones and conduits to only those required. Network segmentation, zone isolation and conduit control enforcement.
Detection, response and reporting of cybersecurity events. Incident response aligned to OT operational constraints and availability requirements.
Ensuring availability of IACS resources in support of operational functions. Denial-of-service protection, resilience and continuity of process operations.
The engine computes an independent Target Security Level for each of the 7 FRs — ensuring proportionate, defensible controls per security domain.
IEC 62443 defines four Security Levels representing increasing protection against sophisticated adversaries. The Cognisec Engine automatically determines the required SL per FR per asset.
Protection against casual or coincidental violation. Minimal security controls targeting unintentional threats.
Protection against intentional violation using simple means with low motivation and generic skills.
Protection against intentional violation using sophisticated means with moderate resources and motivation.
Protection against intentional violation using highly sophisticated means with extended resources, state-level capabilities and high motivation.
A critical capability of the Cognisec IEC 62443 Engine is its differential FR evaluation. Rather than applying a single Security Level to an entire asset, the engine computes SL-T independently for each FR. For example, a SCADA system may require SL-4 for FR-1 (authentication) due to credential exposure risks, while only requiring SL-2 for FR-5 (data flow) because network segmentation is already robust. This prevents both over-engineering of controls and under-protection of high-risk domains — producing proportionate, defensible and cost-effective security governance.
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