Tenable and Siemens partner to secure critical infrastructure

The partnership between Siemens and Tenable combines the two companies' areas of expertise. It can help users better understand when they are at risk and identify where OT assets are vulnerable. On the one hand, the new solution is based on Tenable technology: the first specialized vulnerability assessment for OT (Engl.: Operational Technology), which provides customers with continuous insight into their greatest risks. On the other hand, it's Siemens' industry knowledge and operational expertise. Together, the solution can help customers compensate for the lack of knowledge about critical assets.

Cybersecurity for critical infrastructure has never been more important. Attacks are on the rise globally and OT is increasingly becoming a target - now accounting for 30 percent of attacks. According to a Ponemon study on the state of cybersecurity in the U.S. oil and gas industry, these attacks significantly impact productivity, uptime, efficiency and security.

While companies are implementing cybersecurity measures, they are unable to keep pace with digitalization in the oil and gas industry. As a result, companies are not able to adequately understand and classify cyber risks at all times. This results in a significant cyber exposure gap.

Convergence of IT and OT

"Enterprises deploying Operational Technology face a fundamental security challenge: understanding total cyber exposure in the context of modern, ever-changing attack surfaces," said Amit Yoran, CEO of Tenable. "We have seen the rise of cloud, mobile and IoT. Now we are adding the convergence of IT and OT, making critical systems vulnerable to increasingly aggressive criminals and attacks.

Tenable is the only provider that helps companies close their cyber exposure gaps - whether it's traditional IT, cloud, IoT or OT assets. The cooperation with Siemens is the logical next step and together we enable customers to monitor and understand their attack surface in its entirety. This allows them to discover their vulnerabilities and protect the systems at risk and the people who rely on them."

Vulnerability Detection

"The number of cyber-attacks on oil, gas and utility companies is constantly increasing, and their quality and aggressiveness is growing daily. Passively monitoring all assets in their respective environments is critical to identifying and remediating vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. This is especially important for essential public services such as electricity, gas and water," said Leo Simonovich, Vice President and Global Head, Industrial Cyber and Digital Security at Siemens Energy. "With Siemens' extensive OT expertise and Tenable's leading cybersecurity technology, this partnership is perfectly positioned to expand critical infrastructure protection and protect businesses that depend on industrial systems."

Part of this offering is Industrial Security from Tenable. The solution provides secure and reliable asset discovery and vulnerability detection specifically for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Supervisory and Vulnerability Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. The OT-focused solution takes a non-intrusive approach based on passive network monitoring with Tenable's Nessus Network Monitor.

Companies can thus identify and prioritize OT risks in order to secure safety-relevant assets in production and ensure their functionality.

Industrial Security

Industrial Security is offered by Siemens as a security service to help customers understand the current status of their assets. They get the information they need to understand and reduce their cyber risks. For the first time, companies can assess their cyber exposure across the modern attack surface with a single solution, covering both IT and OT assets.

www.siemens.com