Command authentication related to the control of industrial systems

A system for controlling an operation of an industrial machine that includes authenticating control commands remotely issued by command issuers through a network, the control commands each describing a modifying action that modifies the operation of the industrial machine, the system comprising:

• the industrial machine;
• a unit controller operably connected to the industrial machine for the control thereof;
• a jump host that comprises a communication buffer between the unit controller and the network;
• one or more hardware processors;
• and
• a machine-readable storage medium on which is stored instructions that cause the one or more hardware processors to execute a method that includes:
• maintaining whitelisted commands within a memory of the jump host, the whitelisted commands comprising a list of the control commands that are approved;
• receiving, at the jump host, a first control command via the network;
• determining, at the jump host, whether the first control command is contained within the whitelisted commands, wherein the step of determining whether the first control command is contained within the whitelisted commands comprises:
• determining a unique syntax string identifier for the first control command;
• and
• comparing the unique syntax string identifier of the first control command against the unique syntax string identifiers of the control commands within the whitelisted commands and, therefrom, determining whether the unique syntax string identifier of the first control command exactly matches any of the unique syntax string identifiers of the control commands within the whitelisted commands;
• in response to an affirmative determination that the first control command is contained within the whitelisted commands, deeming the first control command as being authenticated;
• in response to being deemed authenticated, transmitting the first control command to the unit controller of the industrial machine;
• providing a cloud application through which the control commands are routed in transit between the command issuer and the jump host, the cloud application being accessible via the network;
• receiving at the cloud application the first control command issued by the command issuer;
• storing the first control command within a memory of the cloud application;
• periodically sending a query from the jump host to the cloud application regarding whether the cloud application has a stored one of the control commands that has not already been transmitted to the jump host;
• and
• in response to the query from the lump host, transmitting the first control command from the cloud application to the jump host;
• and
• receiving, at the unit controller, the first control command;
• and
• using the unit controller to implement the modifying action of the first control command in controlling the operation of the industrial machine.