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The EU funded project VAN targets the only partially existing proprietary solutions to connect automation networks and devices via public networks in a secure, safe and predictable way. This work in progress paper provides an overview of the solutions implemented in VAN which are currently evaluated for the use in general purpose networks. The generally accepted phase model to implement an abstract security solution is introduced and some aspects are addressed more deeply. VAN will introduce a vendor independent communication solution to interconnect automation networks using public network infrastructures and hence reduce costs, complexity and potentials of misconfiguration.

Security is an intense discussed topic for industrial automation networks. This article will give an overview for security relevant considerations. The foundation of the network security is the analysis of the communication relations. Typical communication scenarios are listed with their constraints and characteristics. This paper will propose a first approach for a structured methodology to classify communications to be able to deduce security relevant use cases and proper methods.