Alliance to secure industrial automation and control networks

ForeScout formed a strategic alliance with Belden companies, Tripwire, a provider of industrial control system (ICS) security-focused technologies featuring the Tripwire Industrial Suite, and Hirschmann to offer a "best-of-breed solution' for operational technology (OT) security. Research indicates that cybersecurity incidents in industrial control environments originate from multiple vectors such as system vulnerabilities, network architecture loopholes, lack of network segmentation and unsecured hardware and software configuration.

Pedro Abreu, chief strategy officer, ForeScout says: "The convergence of IT and OT is shepherding unforeseen levels of interconnectivity among business networks and industrial automation environments. Because OT networks may no longer be air-gapped, threats such as WannaCry and NotPetya that target traditional IT devices have caused immense collateral damage to OT and industrial environments. Through our strategic alliance and integrations with Belden and others, ForeScout is helping organisations elevate their security posture in critical infrastructure networks."

Given the criticality of uptime and safety for industrial devices, they can be taken down for maintenance or patching only during finite maintenance windows, and it is not always possible to install security software or agents which can impact real-time performance. Belden customers can now leverage ForeScout's active and passive discovery and profiling techniques in industrial environments to gain device insight without needing to take devices offline. They can also build and maintain an asset inventory of devices across ICS layers, ensure compliance with industry regulations and security standards, and make dynamic, policy-based decisions for network access control within industrial control networks.

Dhrupad Trivedi, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Belden and president of Tripwire says: "Industrial security continues to be a top priority and asset visibility is the first line of defence to prevent intrusions into the network. By partnering, we further strengthen our Industrial Cybersecurity Suite to expand our asset detection and system hardening capabilities while introducing ForeScout's industry-leading network access control and segmentation capabilities to our IT and OT customers."

Additional benefits include:

• Discover, profile and monitor industrial devices connected to Hirschmann network infrastructure and create a consolidated asset inventory of devices across ICS layers
• Accurately classify assets such as Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), Engineering workstations, Historians and more
• Identify rogue or improperly connected devices on the network to mitigate system risk and avoid accidental downtime and unintended operational disruption
• Provide secure network access and minimise security exposure by limiting service personnel and maintenance equipment access to required sub-systems only
• Segment assets and sub-systems that share common security requirements into security zones based on factors such as criticality and consequence
• Control access to sensitive and confidential data by making network access and dynamic authorisation decisions based on device and user profiles, connectivity location, device integrity and security posture
• Orchestrate information sharing and policy-based security workflows with leading IT security and management products, including Tripwire IP360, to assess compliance and accelerate incident response

Learn more at www.belden.com.