METHOD FOR VERIFYING THE AUTHENTIC ORIGIN OF ELECTRONIC MODULES OF A MODULAR FIELD DEVICE IN AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates to a method for verifying the origin of electronic modules of a field device. Each manufacturer of an electronic module classified as trustworthy is assigned a key pair. Public keys classified as trustworthy are stored in a list in the field device. Each electronic module contains the public key of the manufacturer and a manufacturer signature. The manufacturer signature confirms the public key as trustworthy. When an electronic module is exchanged or added, the field device checks whether that module has a key pair and a manufacturer signature, whether the public key of the manufacturer of the electronic module is listed in the list with the public keys of the manufacturers classified as trustworthy, whether the manufacturer signature matches the manufacturer and the electronic module, and whether the electronic module is in possession of a correct private key.