How should cyber security be addressed in robotics safety?

• A. Through secure design, access control, software updates, network segmentation, authentication, and monitoring to prevent manipulation compromising safety.
• B. By installing antivirus on all computers only.
• C. By requiring manual maintenance only.
• D. By preventing any network connectivity.

Answer: (A)

Cyber security in robotics safety is addressed with a defense-in-depth approach that builds protections into every layer of the system so that even if one part is breached, safety remains intact. This means secure design from the start to minimize vulnerabilities, strict access control so only authorized users can modify behavior, regular software updates to patch known flaws, network segmentation to limit how an attacker can move through the system, strong authentication to verify the identities of users and devices, and continuous monitoring to detect and respond to anomalies before they can affect safety. Together, these measures reduce the attack surface and provide safety-focused protections, including the ability to trigger safe states if something is compromised. Relying solely on antivirus, or on manual maintenance alone, misses essential ongoing protections and real-time safeguards. Blocking all networking is impractical for legitimate safety functions and updates, and is not how modern robotic systems achieve secure and reliable operation.