Cyber-Physical Passport

What is a Cyber-Physical Passport?

Think of CyManII’s Cyber-Physical Passport (CPP) as a digital “passport” for every part used in manufacturing, like a digital medical record that tracks a patient’s health history across different doctors and hospitals. The CPP enriches this digital record by creating a framework to verify the integrity and security of every part needed in a complex manufacturing process.

The Problem

Modern manufacturing relies on millions of parts produced all around the world. A Boeing 747-8, for example, has about 6 million parts manufactured by more than 500 suppliers. Even one compromised part can cause major safety problems, and manufacturers often don’t have a reliable way to track where each part came from, how it was made, or if it could have been compromised.

The Solution

CyManII’s CPP works like a digital health record for parts. Just as a hospital can access your full medical history, the CPP lets manufacturers see:

Where each part came from
Who made it
If it meets quality and safety standards
If it has been changed or damaged

The CPP provides the visibility manufacturers need to verify the integrity, security, and provenance of every part at every step of the manufacturing process.

How It Works

The CPP works by connecting each physical part to a digital framework that tracks every part through the supply chain and manufacturing process. Suppliers and manufacturers contribute to the passport chain as it grows, enriching the data over the lifecycle of the manufacturing process.

Digital Identity for Parts. Each part receives a unique digital identifier, akin to a passport.
Tracking and Verification. The digital identifier tracks the part’s origin, manufacturing process, and any changes or inspections along the way.
Secure Data Access. Manufacturers and regulators can securely access CPP information to verify a part’s authenticity and compliance.

The Benefits

Adopting CyManII’s CPP technology offers a range of benefits that accrue over time for both individual manufacturers and the wider manufacturing community. For individual manufacturers, the CPP system:

Meets some regulatory reporting requirements
Furnishes data to help companies identify problems and improve efficiency

Within the larger manufacturing community, the CPP system:

Fosters TRUST between suppliers and manufacturers
Improves VISIBILITY across supply chains
Encourages COLLABORATION between companies and across sectors

CyManII is already working with GE Vernova, a large original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the energy sector, and several small-to-medium manufacturers (SMMs) to implement a CPP pilot program for industrial control system (ICS) devices.

National Impact

As the CPP system matures, U.S. manufacturing will further advance the national interest by:

Strengthening national security by reducing the risk of faulty, tampered, or counterfeit parts in U.S. supply chains
Strengthening U.S. global competitiveness by making U.S. manufacturing more productive, secure, and innovative
Creating jobs by encouraging companies to build more manufacturing parts production in the United States

National Competitive Advantage

The European Union utilizes a similar, but more limited, technology called a Digital Product Passport (DPP), and China is in the process of developing its own version. CyManII’s CPP goes beyond these data models while offering full implementation and software services that provide security, integrity, and empower greater productivity.

Looking Ahead

CyManII is actively working to implement CPP pilots. Through its Industry Use Case Partnerships, CyManII is working directly with industry to implement CPP technology and enable full supply-chain transparency, optimization, and cyber-risk evaluation for an individual product, and the systems and materials involved in its manufacture.

CPPs capture and document the lifecycle of manufacturing parts from design to production to operation. Passports are created in a nested hierarchical structure to offer varying levels of visibility and granularity at each level. At the design level, the CPP incorporates schematic details with unique context-specific analysis and verification. At the production level, CPP combines details for each part with analysis of product and design parameters. At the operations level, CPP provides continuous verification to ensure all parts maintain quality. The CPP system includes many types of passports that can be applied to a variety of products.

Frequently Asked Questions