Partnership Defends Against Targeted Attacks

In the face of digital transformation and the increased connectivity that comes with it, cybersecurity has become a part of nearly every technology discussion. That’s becoming an increasingly collaborative discussion as automation suppliers team up with specialists throughout the security ecosystem to buttress their system capabilities. Software could be a key entry point for attacks, since it is directly connected to critical data.

Aveva, which combined with Schneider Electric Software earlier this year to create a new engineering and industrial software company, has announced a new partnership with Virsec that focuses on the security challenges threatening critical infrastructure. The partnership will give Aveva customers access to in-memory cyber protection for industrial control systems (ICSs) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.

This follows on from a partnership Schneider Electric announced in January (before merging its software business with Aveva) with Cylance, a company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to block malware, fileless attacks and advanced cyberthreats. The endpoint protection provided through Cylance will now combine with Virsec’s in-memory security protection to help strengthen the overall security of Aveva’s industrial software portfolio.

As industry struggles to combat the increasingly sophisticated and targeted cyberattacks on their operations—especially with the convergence of information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT)—there has been particular concern about the security of critical infrastructure. Virsec Trusted Execution is targeted at providing an effective layer of protection against these advanced attacks by ensuring applications perform only as designed. The technology will be provided as an integrated part of Aveva software.

“We are thrilled to help Aveva proactively protect industrial, engineering and critical infrastructure organizations from these dangerous security threats,” said Atiq Raza, CEO of Virsec.

“Aveva continues to pursue new strategies and alliances to preemptively harden and secure its industrial and engineering software portfolio. By partnering with Virsec, we have added an important layer of protection for our customers, leading the industry in applying the latest security technologies,” said Rashesh Mody, vice president of monitoring and control at Aveva. “Increasing convergence between IT and OT systems demands that our software solutions deliver ever-increasing levels of security while working seamlessly with our client’s IT systems.”

The agreement made earlier this year with Cylance involves placing Cylance’s security capabilities within Aveva’s Industrial Software Platform. Those capabilities include applying AI and machine learning to pattern recognition applications to improve cybersecurity protection.

“We take security seriously, so have invested considerable time and effort identifying how to deliver ever-increasing security standards for our software solutions,” said Andrew McCloskey, vice president of product development at Schneider Electric at the time but now head of R&D for Aveva. “This partnership enables us to stay on the forefront of protection against cyber attacks, which will then be shared with our partners, to minimize the potential for a security compromise by our customers.”