The IEC 62443-4-2 section describes the requirements, which were set out in advance, that the components of a control system need to implement in order to achieve a certain security level.
Moreover, manufacturers can certify their products in this standard to prove that a component has all the necessary measures at each security level.
To reassure them that the devices they install on their systems have some minimum security features.
They may refer to the standard to see what set of security measures they have to add to adapt to any of the defined security levels.
They can find out the capabilities of the assets, to configure them according to the security level defined by the asset manager.
They can make use this regulation when carrying out compliance audits.
The IEC 62443-4-2 document inherits the requirement specifications from another document in the series, IEC 62443-3-3, which is discussed in article Security level according to IEC 62443-3-3 in Industrial Control Systems. Besides the requirements, this document also inherits security levels, albeit it qualifies them and adapts them to each of the defined device types.
Manufacturers and suppliers of industrial automation and control system (IACS) components need to comply with IEC 62443-4-2. This includes vendors of:
Compliance ensures these components meet specific technical cybersecurity requirements to support secure system integration.
Compliance is typically certified through third-party certification bodies that assess:
Certification often includes documentation review, testing, and audit of the product and its development practices.
Compliance provides several key benefits: