Belden Acquires Byres Security Inc.

Sept. 1, 2011
ICS security vendor will be independent business unit.

Byres Security Inc. announced today that it will become an independent business unit of Belden Inc., the manufacturer of cable, connectivity and networking products.

According to an announcement on the Byres Security website, the Tofino Security brand will remain unchanged and existing Tofino Security product lines will be actively developed, sold and supported. Likewise, partner relationships, including those with companies such as MTL Instruments, Honeywell Process Solutions, Invensys Operations Management and all Tofino value-added resellers and systems integrators will remain unchanged. Eric Byres will remain with Byres Security as CTO and vice president, engineering, and Joann Byres will remain as general manager and vice president.

In an announcement on the Tofino Security blog, the Byres said, "We are committed to developing the business for many years. Our experienced BSI team remains intact."

According to the post, expected results of the merger include increased development in R & D and the expansion of the BSI product line to include a wider range of hardware platforms. Tofino Security technology also will be incorporated into Belden's industrial networking and automation products, including embedded products

Joann Byres added, "The deal is beneficial to us because it provides financial and organizational support for realizing the market potential of Tofino Security technology. The industrial control system security market is growing quickly, and now, as part of Belden, we will be able to truly seize the opportunity."

Peter Fröhlich, Ph.D., Director R&D for Belden's industrial networking business, said, "BSI is a leading provider of industrial control system security and its Tofino Security technology will strengthen Belden's position as the world's leading provider of complete industrial networking solutions. As an independent business entity within Belden, BSI will continue its growth and success and contribute to our vision of delivering secure communications to mission critical networking solutions. We already use BSI's technology in our EAGLE line of security products and intend to leverage it across our entire industrial networking product portfolio, particularly the Hirschmann and GarrettCom industrial network products."

No financial details of the acquisition have been released.