Software-Defined and Secure Industrial Networks for the Industry 4.0

Communication between assets and systems is one of the key concepts behind the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The opening of the Operational Technology (OT) network to the core optical Information Technology (IT) network and, more generally to the Internet, generates novel cyber-security threats to the manufacturing environment. This manuscript discusses how Software-Defined Networking (SDN) can minimize security threats to the OT network.