News
Barracuda Networks and SCADAfence Announce Solution that Automate OT Network Security
September 2019 by Marc Jacob
California-based Barracuda Networks and Israel-based SCADAfence announce a solution to enforce security levels across operational technology (OT), critical infrastructure networks and smart buildings by providing visibility, detection and automated incident response to a growing number of new and critical security threats.
The digital transformation of industrial control system (ICS) environments, which include an extended adoption of advanced technologies and connection to regular IT networks, has led to new security challenges. The rapid growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has also extended previously sealed-off IT systems to devices such as surveillance cameras and building entry systems.
Facilities such as manufacturing facilities and critical utilities formerly relied on a perceived “air gap” between their IT and OT systems and the internet. But increased digitalization has had the effect of closing the air gap and opening IT and OT systems up to potential attacks via the internet. Rising connectivity between manufacturing plants, critical infrastructure facilities, and smart buildings and their corresponding external environments has exposed operational technology (OT) networks to a threat landscape ranging from targeted attacks to generic ransomware.
Solution Overview:
The SCADAfence Platform continuously monitors internal OT network traffic and, by analyzing the proprietary industrial protocols, provides asset discovery, inventory, vulnerability management and threat detection. Combining SCADAfence’s understanding of the internal OT network activities with Barracuda’s CloudGen Firewall network protection and threat mitigation capabilities extends the visibility and security enforcement capabilities from standard IT to specialized networks driving today’s operational technology. Barracuda’s CloudGen Firewall products leverage the accurate data coming from the SCADAfence Platform.
Solution Benefits:
The solution provides these main benefits:
• Stronger internal OT security and better visibility to the existing IT security controls.
• Combines OT threat detection with automatic enforcement capabilities to automate incident response.
• Increases network resilience by ensuring proper enforcement of security policies.
• Monitors remote access activities and ensures that only authorized changes are performed.
• Prevents unwanted protocol usage.
• Blocks unauthorized access.
To ensure proper security control and risk management, organizations in manufacturing, critical infrastructures and smart buildings need to deploy dedicated security solutions either within the OT network and on the perimeter between IT and OT, or between the internet and OT. The new solution combines leading monitoring, segmentation, and secure remote access solutions so organizations can have the peace of mind that they are protected in the new digital era.
