As the global technology leaders in OT Security, we’re very proud to be founding members of a new alliance that provides technical and organizational frameworks for safe and secure operational technology (OT).

Cyber-attacks on critical and industrial infrastructure are on the rise, impacting operational reliability and business risk across all industries, including, utilities, manufacturing and oil and gas. Threats to operational technology (OT) – the hardware and software dedicated to monitoring and controlling physical devices can disrupt operations and negatively impact productivity, cause ecological damage, and compromise human safety.

To help mitigate this risk, we are taking a leading role in the launch of a new global alliance focused on cybersecurity. The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) was established to help companies address the OT security challenges that continue to put operations, and consequently, business at risk.

Other industry leaders have partnered up with us to establish the OTCSA, such as ABB, Check Point Software, BlackBerry Cylance, Forescout, Fortinet, Microsoft, Mocana, NCC Group, Qualys, Splunk, and Wärtsilä.

“We are honored to be the only dedicated OT security company to join the OT Cyber Security Alliance, and to contribute our knowledge and experience as part of the Alliance’s Technical Committee,” said Ofer Shaked, CTO & Co-Founder of SCADAfence. “Cyber attackers have well-established and organized communities that cooperate to produce cyber threats and it’s time large OT vendors and security leaders work together and enable organizations to manage their exposure, proactively protect their networks and detect and respond to threats faster”

The OTCSA mission is five-fold:

  • Strengthen cyber-physical risk posture of OT environments and interfaces for OT/IT interconnectivity
  • Guide OT operators on how to protect their OT infrastructure based on a risk management process and reference architectures/designs which are demonstrably compliant with regulations and international standards, such as IEC 62443, NERC CIP and NIST 800-53
  • Guide OT suppliers on secure OT system architectures, relevant interfaces, and security functionalities
  • Support the procurement, development, installation, operation, maintenance, and implementation of a safer, more secure critical infrastructure
  • Accelerate the time to adopt safer, more secure critical infrastructures

We at SCADAfence are to play a pivotal role in the OTCSA’s aim to work together to safeguard the world’s industrial control systems. Two of our architects are working on the alliance’s technical committee and have already integrated their products, holistic solutions and share years of technical knowledge with other alliance members such as ABB, Fortinet, and Checkpoint.

The OTCSA promotes collaboration amongst leading IT and OT companies, thought leaders in the cybersecurity community, and vendors and OT operators from a variety of industries. Membership is open to any company that operates critical infrastructure or general OT systems to run its business (OT operators) as well as companies providing IT and OT solutions (solution providers).

As founding members of OTCSA, we urge other players to also join the alliance in order to work together with us to develop new defenses and procedures capable of safeguarding OT infrastructures against today’s increasingly sophisticated and rapidly growing barrage of cyber-attacks.

To learn more about OTCSA or becoming a member, visit: https://www.otcsalliance.org

For more information on our involvement in OTCSA, read our press release.