Siemens and SparkCognition announce new AI-driven cybersecurity solution for ICS endpoints

Artificial intelligence technology provider SparkCognition and multinational conglomerate Siemens announced a new partnership. The  two organizations  have  collaborated on a new AI-driven cybersecurity solution for industrial control system endpoints.

“Cyberattacks on the energy industry are on the rise in volume and in sophistication, and they increasingly threaten companies’ physical safety and security, business operations, and the critical infrastructure that powers communities throughout the world,” said Leo Simonovich, head of industrial cybersecurity at Siemens, said in a press release. “Many energy companies with remote, endpoint assets have struggled to defend their environment because they either lacked the visibility to detect, or the agility to mitigate, cyberattacks that threaten operational technologies. This new partnership combines Siemens’ cybersecurity expertise in securing operational technology with SparkCognition’s expertise in artificial intelligence to deliver the energy industry’s first solution capable of detecting and protecting remote assets against cyberattacks.”

DeepArmor Industrial is designed to protect endpoint, or remote, operational technology assets in the energy industry. The AI-driven cybersecurity system promises to deliver next-generation antivirus, threat detection, application control, and zero-day attack prevention to endpoint power generation, oil and gas, and transmission and distribution assets.

“Through our extensive work with the energy industry, we’ve seen the pain points and challenges the industry is facing right now,” Sridhar Sudarsan, Chief Technology Officer at SparkCognition, said in the release. “The industry needs security solutions that can both operate autonomously and are designed with the modern industrial environment in mind. Together with Siemens, we are excited to bring next-generation endpoint protection that is specifically designed to increase the cyber resilience of OT networks and prevent advanced threat actors from impacting critical infrastructure.”

Siemens and the Ponemon Institute surveyed global energy industry executives on a wide range of threats, vulnerabilities, and strategies required to protect oil and gas assets. According to the 2017 study, 67 percent of respondents believe the risk level to industrial control systems over the past few years has substantially increased because of cyber threats. Additionally, 61 percent of respondents said their organization’s industrial control systems protection and security was not adequate.

Rebecca Addison

Industrial Cyber Editor. Rebecca Addison is a former newspaper editor with a decade of experience in the media industry. During her career, she has interviewed world leaders and corporate CEOs, and covered topics ranging from blockchain and CBD to healthcare and education.