Smart factories, among the first to move forward with the Internet of Things (IoT) thanks to factory automation, will soon reap the benefits of another successful Intel IoT ecosystem collaboration. Intel Security and Honeywell Process Solutions are teaming up to bolster protection of critical industrial infrastructure. Intel Security’s McAfee technologies will enhance Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security Solutions offering, providing Honeywell customers with new choices to protect their control systems from malware and misuse.
“Protecting our critical infrastructure and the emerging industrial IoT from cyber threats is a national priority, and the partnership of two market leaders will go a long way toward that goal,” said Raj Samani, vice president and chief technology officer, Intel Security. “Technologies in the Industrial IoT space have a tremendous amount of potential, and we can’t let security concerns undermine that; instead, security has to enable the growth of industrial IoT, and that’s what our collaboration with Honeywell will do.”
Honeywell is a leader in the industrial automation space, and its Industrial Cyber Security Solutions group has a dedicated global team of experts that provide products, services and technologies to protect industrial automation and control systems against cyber threats. The collaboration combines Intel Security’s latest advances in cyber security technology with Honeywell’s unique industrial process domain knowledge to provide tailored security solutions for the industrial environment.
“The threat of cyber attacks on industrial and critical infrastructure targets is growing rapidly and our customers demand effective cyber security to protect their assets and people,” said Jeff Zindel, global business leader for Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security Solutions group. “Collaborating with Intel Security expands our capabilities to ensure the availability, reliability and safety of customers’ industrial control systems and plant operations.”
The benefits from the integration include:
- Tested, proven and validated protection from known and unknown malware threats against systems using the Experion Process Knowledge System
- Consistent protection for both connected and air-gapped systems with no additional need for signature updates
- Change Policy Enforcement to ensure any changes are made according to authorized policy and process
- Integrated management and analysis of cyber security risk using Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security Risk Manager
- Ideal for isolated systems within industrial control systems, this solution is designed to work without having access to the Internet or any other network
The growing threat of cyber-attacks to industrial targets is a major global concern according to a global survey on cyber security conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in September 2014 on behalf of Honeywell. Two-thirds of those surveyed believe that the oil and gas, chemical and power industries were particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Intel and Honeywell’s collaboration to strengthen industrial solutions for IoT is clearly a step in the right direction.
To learn more about what Intel is doing to more securely move factory automation forward, visit intel.com/industrial. To stay up-to-date with Intel IoT developments, keep your eyes on this blog, our website, and on Facebook and Twitter.