IEC 62443-4-1/4-2 certificates for AI-enabled OT products

Vendors of AI-enabled controllers, edge gateways and OT analytics often point to an IEC 62443 certificate. That certificate is real evidence, but about two specific things: the supplier’s secure development process (62443-4-1) and the security capabilities of a component (62443-4-2). Neither part is about the behavior of a machine-learning model. This page sets out what each certificate says, from the IEC catalog and ISASecure, and what to ask on top.

4-1 is the process, 4-2 is the component

The IEC catalog says IEC 62443-4:2018 specifies the process requirements for the secure development of products used in industrial automation and control systems. (the “62443-4” is IEC’s own wording on the 4-1 entry). The life-cycle description includes security requirements definition, secure design, secure implementation (including coding guidelines), verification and validation, defect management, patch management and product end-of-life. It is aimed at the supplier: Note that these requirements only apply to the developer and maintainer of the product, and are not applicable to the integrator or the user of the product.

IEC 62443-4-2 provides detailed technical control system component requirements (CRs) associated with the seven foundational requirements (FRs) described in IEC TS 62443-1-1. Its catalog entry adds: Defining security capability levels for the control system component is the goal and objective of this document as opposed to SL-T or achieved SLs (SL-A), which are out of scope.

What ISASecure certifies

ISASecure says it is the only global ISA/IEC 62443 certification program that requires its certification bodies to be accredited to ISO/IEC 17065. Three of its schemes matter here:

• SDLA (process). The SDLA certifies compliance to the ISA/IEC 62443-4-1 standard. The certificate covers a specific version of a named, documented development lifecycle process under version control that is used by that organization(s).
• CSA (component). CSA addresses component characteristics and supplier development practices for those components. In order to obtain ISASecure CSA certification, a supplier must pass a security development lifecycle process assessment for component development (SDLPA-C). The functional assessment and vulnerability testing work like this: FSA-C examines the security capabilities of the component, while recognizing in accordance with ISA/IEC 62443-4-2 that requirements for security functionality differ by component type. VIT scans the component for the presence of known vulnerabilities. Levels offered are capability security levels 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• SSA (system). Certification applies to a particular version of a system, a specific layout or (for a scalable system) a set of layouts, and The ISASecure SSA certificate for a system will name the security zones and their certified capability security levels.

All three are tied to a version. A certificate for one firmware release, process version or system layout does not automatically carry over to the next.

What a certificate does not tell you about the AI

Editorial judgment, based on the scope sentences above:

• Model behavior. 4-2 sets component security capabilities against seven foundational requirements. Nothing in the catalog text or ISASecure’s scheme descriptions addresses model accuracy, drift, robustness to adversarial inputs or the quality of training data.
• Your installation. 4-1 does not apply to the integrator or user, and 4-2 puts target and achieved security levels out of scope. Whether the AI component meets the security level your zone needs is still a site risk assessment.
• Model updates. Retrained models delivered as updates should go through the supplier’s 4-1 patch-management and defect-management process. Ask whether model artifacts are inside that process and inside the certified product version.
• Functional safety. If the AI function affects a safety instrumented function, that is IEC 61508 or IEC 61511 territory, not 62443.

The series is moving

The IEC catalog shows recent additions: IEC 62443-2-1:2024 (edition 2.0, 2024-08-07), whose abstract says it defined a maturity model for evaluating requirements.; IEC TS 62443-6-2:2025, which specifies the evaluation methodology to support achieving repeatable and reproducible evaluation results for IACS components under evaluation against IEC 62443-4-2 requirements. but does not specify the definition of a complete certification scheme or certification program.; and IEC PAS 62443-1-6:2025 on the Industrial Internet of Things.

The 1-6 entry says The drafting committee for IEC 62443 is currently engaged in revision of parts of the standard to recognize emerging technologies, such as IIoT, and this document is part of that on-going effort. It also notes IEC PASs are automatically withdrawn after 4 years. We found no IEC 62443 part that sets AI-specific requirements.

What ISA has said about AI

In November 2025 ISA published a position paper on industrial AI. ISA’s release says the paper underscores the key role of proven standards frameworks like ISA/IEC 62443 in ensuring AI systems are transparent, secure, reliable and aligned with operational technology (OT) requirements. It points to risks including novel attack vectors unique to AI systems, calling for the establishment of strong consensus-based standards and the enhancement of education programs to include AI.

That is a position, not a requirement. The joint CISA and partner guidance on AI in OT similarly asks operators to embed AI system assessments within existing risk evaluation, mitigation, and monitoring processes. See CISA joint principles for AI in OT.

Questions to ask the vendor

1. Which ISASecure scheme (SDLA, CSA or SSA) and which capability security level does the certificate cover, and for which product version?
2. Is the AI or ML function part of the certified component, or a separate application or cloud service?
3. Are model files and retrained models delivered through the SDLA-certified patch-management process?
4. What evidence covers model behavior (accuracy, drift, adversarial robustness)? A 62443 certificate does not.
5. What does the integrator have to do to reach the target security level for the zone?

Questions

Does an IEC 62443-4-2 certificate cover the ML model in a component? It covers the component’s security capabilities against the 4-2 requirements. The catalog and ISASecure text we cite do not address model behavior.

Is there an AI-specific part of IEC 62443? As of 25 October 2026 we found none in the IEC catalog. ISA’s 2025 position paper calls for standards work on AI; it is not itself a standard.

Does 4-1 apply to the plant that installs the product? No. IEC says its requirements are not applicable to the integrator or the user.