Honeywell acquires SCADAfence to boost cybersecurity software portfolio

Honeywell is set to acquire OT and IoT cybersecurity solutions provider SCADAfence, to strengthen its cybersecurity software portfolio. The deal enables SCADAfence to integrate into the Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity+ suite providing expanded asset discovery, threat detection, and compliance management capabilities. Furthermore, SCADAfence extends Honeywell’s OT cybersecurity portfolio to build upon its comprehensive professional services, managed security services, and software solutions.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, SCADAfence will expand Honeywell’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Tel Aviv. Honeywell has been implementing OT cybersecurity solutions for more than twenty years, delivering thousands of projects in over 130 countries with more than 500 employees worldwide focused specifically on OT cybersecurity.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, apart from details on how many SCADAfence employees would join Honeywell.

Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity+ suite will integrate SCADAfence product portfolio into Honeywell Connected Enterprise, offering end-to-end enterprise OT cybersecurity solutions for site managers, operations management, and CISOs. This acquisition strengthens cybersecurity capabilities and bolsters Honeywell’s high-growth OT cybersecurity portfolio, ensuring secure, reliable, and efficient operations for customers.

“It is essential to protect and maintain the integrity of operational systems like process control equipment in manufacturing facilities. A simple breach in the OT environment has the potential to create safety and business continuity risk for organizations of all sizes,” Kevin Dehoff, president and chief executive officer, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, said in a media statement. “OT assets are inherently different than those in the IT environment as they are domain specific. Honeywell has been delivering and installing these systems for decades, which is why we launched our cybersecurity business more than twenty years ago.” 

Dehoff said that adding SCADAfence’s product portfolio will strengthen Honeywell’s capabilities and help customers defend themselves against cyber security risks which are progressively increasing.

“SCADAfence is an ideal complement to Honeywell’s OT cybersecurity portfolio and, when combined with the Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity+ suite, it enables us to provide an end-to-end solution with applicability to asset, site and enterprise across key Honeywell sectors,” said Dehoff. “By enhancing our cybersecurity portfolio, we are accessing a growth engine and enabling our customers to operate their OT environments more securely and help to avoid disruption and possible catastrophic events.”

“We are thrilled to join Honeywell as we work towards fulfilling our mission of empowering industrial organizations to operate securely, reliably and efficiently. This combination creates significant opportunity for growth, allowing us to combine our top-tier OT cybersecurity products with one of the world’s leading companies in industrial software,” said Elad Ben Meir, chief executive officer, SCADAfence. “With this acquisition, we are poised to deliver some of the most advanced OT security technology to Honeywell’s broad customer base, bolstering the comprehensive Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity+ offering. We remain committed to proactively serving and supporting our customers across all verticals and geographies where we currently operate.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of certain regulatory approvals. 

Last January, Honeywell expanded its OT cybersecurity portfolio with active defense and deception technology solutions. The Honeywell Threat Defense Platform (HTDP) features autonomous deception technology from Acalvio, which helps thwart threat actors and provide accurate threat detection for buildings’ operational technology 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.