Siemens unveils managed cyber security system

By Billy Thinnes
Technical Editor

Siemens has rolled out a managed security service in the US, with the goal of providing continuous protection to production environments, the company said on Wednesday.

The offering includes assessment of security posture, implementation of recommended security measures and transitions into ongoing defense against rapidly-evolving cyber security threats in industrial control system environments. 

These services will first be introduced in the US, soon to be followed by Europe and Asia.

 

Siemens is expanding its existing security portfolio by providing holistic protection to manufacturing sites. Siemens’ approach is to partner with customers to help them build sustainable industrial security programs, by leveraging expertise in automation and industrial cyber security.

 

“Global cyber threats are rapidly evolving, and it also takes continuous and comprehensive action to protect production environments,” says Jagannath Rao, president of Siemens’ Industry Customer Services.  “This new managed service will allow customers to stay focused on their core business while entrusting the implementation of their security program to Siemens as a knowledgeable partner.”

 

“Companies are understanding that cyber security commands the attention of those at the helm of the enterprise because of its sheer gravity and magnitude,” said Raj Batra, president of Siemens Industry Automation. “With that C-level focus, the rest of the enterprise quickly follows suit, but they need help, and that’s where vendors like Siemens come in.”

 

The specific requirements for security of an industrial control system (ICS) environment differ from the enterprise requirements of corporate IT. In a production environment, availability is a key security goal. To ensure uninterrupted production and maximized uptime requires comprehensive protection of the people, processes and equipment.   

 

The impacts of a successful attack can be serious, and include health, safety and ICS environmental impacts along with manipulation of data, IP theft, sabotage of production and plant down time.

 

Conducting industrial security presents challenges, such as a lack of qualified individuals to design, implement and respond to incidents; a rapid increase in number of industrial security threats and attacks; lack of global threat intelligence to enable pro-active defensive measures; insufficient data to make business decision based upon risk; and emerging government rules and regulations.

 

The new Siemens offering is aimed at helping customers move away from point solutions for security to a comprehensive security program delivered through a managed security service, making security an ongoing lifecycle.