Defining an IIoT endpoint

IIoT endpoints are often equated to the next generation of machines and IoT devices capable of network connectivity. These devices, however, are a subset of the endpoint universe in the context of security and trustworthiness. An IIoT endpoint can be any device or system in an IIoT implementation that generates, processes, routes, or stores data.

The IIC Vocabulary defines an endpoint as a "component that has computational capabilities and network connectivity." Thus, IIoT endpoints are not limited only to connected field devices, such as sensors, actuators, and plant equipment (turbines and so on), but include other nodes of an ICS/SCADA system (such as PLCs, RTUs, and DCS) and intermediator systems (such as industrial routers, firewalls, gateways, and edge devices), spanning all the way to cloud-based appliances and servers. Physical endpoints may have independent hardware and dedicated silicon fabric, or may run as virtual instances in virtualized environments...