Your CODESYS applications protected and licensed

In the past, the need to protect the software on industrial controllers used to come as an afterthought, but no longer: Software protection has long since become a top priority for the people in charge of keeping industrial and mechanical engineering enterprises safe and secure. And this goes beyond the critical infrastructures that regulators already had in their sights. The momentum for more security now comes from the market itself, with ever louder calls to safeguard industrial networks against attacks e.g. by complying with the international IEC 62443 standards. A look at the news shows that this is happening not a moment too soon: Cyberattacks against businesses and industrial installations are a constant threat, and the ability to protect the invaluable intellectual property invested in or handled by the software has become a game changer.

On top of pure security concerns, companies will want to control access to their systems or software e.g. for certified service technicians or as a goods means to monetize a device’s add-on features and functions. Users can purchase the licenses they need from the flexible choice of licensing models they are offered, which can include popular options like time-based (subscriptions) or usage-based (pay-per-use) licenses. They allow providers to tailor their licensing models perfectly to match the local market’s needs without having to go back to doctoring their software.

CODESYS seized upon these trends at a very early stage. The leading hardware-independent IEC 61131-3 programming system used to create controller applications under Windows is equipped with Wibu-Systems’ CodeMeter technology – the perfect toolkit for putting in place just the right protection, authentication, and licensing solutions.

Here are the core pillars we are going to discuss during this masterclass:

• The fundamentals of CodeMeter
  • CodeMeter Protection Suite
  • Types of license containers (CmDongles, CmActLicenses, CmCloudContainers)
  • Designing licensing models
  • Distributing licenses with CodeMeter License Central
• CodeMeter’s integration and operation in CODESYS
• Using the container function with CmDongles or CmActContainers
• Support for the Universal Firm Code
• License queries in the IEC 61131-3 code and CODESYS Control Runtime
• Implementing pay-per-use models with the UnitCounter
• Encrypting and decrypting source code
• A look ahead at the roadmap for CODESYS

Use this opportunity to get a close-up look at the great teamwork of CODESYS and CodeMeter, with live demos to show their capabilities for your practical needs.