Due to the possibility of catastrophic consequences on economic and public safety, the issue of cyber attack is reaching a new height of concern at national, industry and corporate levels. A lapse in SCADA and DCS network security can potentially cause interruption of revenue generation, sweeping blackouts, water resource shortages and interference of major transportation systems. Growing concern for cybersecurity threats, NERC standards and the recently signed energy bill are driving companies responsible for critical infrastructure to implement greater levels of network security at the real-time control level.
Based on two years of customer feedback, requests and market observations, Verano designed Industrial Defender V2.0 to protect the control environment against all forms of cyber attack including viruses, worms, Trojans, hackers, application exploits, rogue systems, resource starvation and unauthorized use, while assuring the highest levels of availability. This layered approach consists of security monitoring of multi-vendor control system critical metrics, as well as perimeter protection and network monitoring to detect and prevent internal and external threats. Easy management and immediate visibility of the entire control environment enable increased efficiency and accuracy for the user.
"Verano is in a position to understand how to secure existing control environments, given its 15 years experience in mission-critical control," said Bob Mick, vice president, ARC Advisory Group. "We've watched Verano advance Industrial Defender as a real-time control security solution, based on evolving customer needs as well as an awareness of government priorities and standards for the nation's critical infrastructure. As a result, utilities faced with the challenge of protecting the nation's energy supply while addressing compliance requirements will benefit from deep engagements with companies like Verano, in addition to the protections that their cybersecurity solutions give to new and legacy systems."
In one customer example, a key player in the transmission and distribution industry recently realized it needed to boost its security measures for the sake of its more than 1.75 million customers. They selected Verano to implement two Industrial Defender systems, with host agents to be distributed to a total of 23 remote systems for its primary and disaster recovery center. Based on successful results, Industrial Defender (upon going live) detected a previous worm infection as well as several additional vulnerabilities. The company is continuing to reap the benefits of this comprehensive security solution and plans to deploy Industrial Defender in several other SCADA environments across different geographies.
With Industrial Defender, companies gain a comprehensive security solution for their real-time control systems and applications, while still enabling optimal availability and performance. Industrial Defender's threat-adaptive design provides the appropriate level of security based on risk management and budgetary needs. As needs evolve, the system can easily be expanded and upgraded.
Industrial Defender V2.0 features:
- Comprehensive layers of security entirely accessible and manageable via one UI
- New industrial automation security agents for critical security and performance monitoring of multi-vendor SCADA and DCS systems including: ABB 800xA, ABB Infi90, ABB Symphony/Harmony, Automsoft RAPID Historian, Emerson WDPF, Foxboro I/A, Quantum PLCs, Rockwell RSView, Schneider Momentum and Verano RTAP
- Control network specific rules to detect security issues, and errors with protocols such as DNP3 and fieldbus over TCP
- Scalable unified threat management and network monitoring appliances enabling cost effective perimeter protection and immediate visibility of the entire control environment
- Unique threat-adaptive lock-down feature for immediate modification of perimeter security settings from the console
- Tunable resource usage for support of older systems to eliminate the need to upgrade existing control systems
- FERC/NERC CIP compliance enablement
- New customizable analysis and reporting capabilities simplify compliance activities and enhance operational efficiency
Industrial Defender V2.0 is now available. Further information can be found at www.verano.com.
