Consider the legal liability impact from Remote Access

The legal liability issues created when remotely adjusting or making

changes to electromechanical equipment should be considered as a very
important component in understanding the liability of making changes.
Most OT individuals are engineers, and the workgroup felt that it would be
good to have some input from an attorney that has supported many in the
manufacturing and automation field.

Whenever one company remotely monitors, adjusts, or makes changes to

electromechanical equipment owned by another company, there is a risk of
something going wrong. As with any risk, however unlikely, this possibility
needs to be managed and minimized. Although not all-encompassing,
the following section contains some important considerations from an
attorney’s view that should be part of any plan.

Four concerns that showcase the risk:

These are not the only risks of Remote Access, but they are illustrative.

Confidentiality/Intellectual Property (IP): Think of Remote

Access as an electronic doorway into which things can go “in”
and “out.” Some of the things that can go “out” are data and
ideas. While no automation provider may have the intent of
circulating or distributing such information to third parties,
electronic interconnectivity makes that somewhat more likely.
Most industrial contracts make even the inadvertent disclosure
of confidential information a matter of serious liability. And if a
recirculated item represents the source company’s unique way of
doing things—its “intellectual property”—it could create liability
for patent infringement.

2021 I Practical Guide for Remote Access to Plant Equipment 36