Industrial Defender debuts Phoenix for SMBs delivering OT visibility, security for smaller installations

OT asset data and cybersecurity solutions company Industrial Defender released Tuesday Phoenix, a quick-start OT (operational technology) visibility and security offering targeted at small to medium-sized operations. Phoenix addresses the critical need for smaller operators to secure their operations with an easy-to-use and cost-effective OT security solution. It also enables quick visibility into plant assets through a combination of passive, agentless, and active discovery, as well as threat detection capabilities that enable smaller operators to manage their cyber risk. 

Plants and factories of all sizes rely on control systems, sensors, and software to drive their operations. These systems make up the OT attack surface and can be difficult to track and monitor for security issues. Due to the unique operational requirements of OT assets, popular IT solutions cannot be used to monitor and secure them, Industrial Defender said. “Meanwhile, other OT security solutions in the market today are geared toward major critical infrastructure operators and large manufacturers, and their high cost and complexity to deploy and manage make them unsuitable for SMBs.”

Designed for small to medium-sized businesses struggling with limited resources and budgets, Phoenix is a simplified, all-in-one solution ideal for environments with up to 200 endpoints. The offering provides a quick, automated view of all OT assets and vital endpoint information, including device type, make, model, and serial number, software and firmware, user accounts, ports and services, and configuration details.

Phoenix also provides a quick on-ramp to asset discovery by monitoring network communication. In addition, Phoenix combines passive means with agentless and active discovery methods for an enhanced, more comprehensive dataset. The offering also enables security event management by providing event log data, network analytics through network monitoring and visibility into communication flows, and enterprise integration with flexible APIs.

“From ransomware campaigns to nation-state attacks, cyber threats against industrial organizations have never been higher. Attackers are increasingly targeting operational technology, and smaller organizations are especially vulnerable due to their limited resources,” Jay Williams, CEO of Industrial Defender, said in a media statement. “SMBs often believe they wouldn’t be targeted, but all users of operational technology are at risk of cyberattacks, whether they are the intended target or just caught in the blast radius. Cyber incidents are crippling for small businesses, and Industrial Defender is excited to launch Phoenix as a solution to help protect their operations.”

Williams added that just because operators have smaller footprint facilities, whether a specialty manufacturer, a water treatment site, or a micro power generator, it does not mean they should operate with a blind spot to their cyber and business risks. “We are proud to support SMBs in the important role they play in fueling our economy and advancing our quality of life.”

Apart from the standard asset, configuration, and event data (hardware, serial number, installed firmware/software, version information, vulnerability, operational data, and network communications), Phoenix also provides visibility into user account information and firewall information and events. Its comprehensive data collection options, including passive, agentless, and third-party ingestion methods, meet the ‘unique needs’ of industrial environments. “Whether you have 25 or fewer endpoints, or as many as 200, Phoenix offers cost-effective options that fit your needs. Easily deployed with minimal footprint,” the company added.

Phoenix is available at flexible and cost-effective pricing options that provide the right fit for small to mid-sized environments. Even as needs and operations expand, Phoenix is an effective starting solution that can be scaled into a network of enterprise-grade solutions to enable future growth. Now any organization can achieve situational awareness and enhance the security and resilience of their industrial operations.

In February, Industrial Defender teamed with Nozomi Networks to announce a joint solution that combines asset visibility and threat detection capabilities from Nozomi Networks with change and configuration monitoring from Industrial Defender to provide a complete and detailed view of OT assets and behavior in the industry. The offering blends network monitoring, vulnerability management, and threat detection with endpoint configuration management capabilities to protect critical OT environments.

Anna Ribeiro

Industrial Cyber News Editor. Anna Ribeiro is a freelance journalist with over 14 years of experience in the areas of security, data storage, virtualization and IoT.