Rockwell Automation agrees to acquire Verve Industrial Protection

October 23, 2023

Rockwell Automation announced Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire industrial cybersecurity software and services company Verve Industrial Protection. The decision will help expand Rockwell offerings with an asset inventory system and vulnerability management solution.

“The foundation of OT cybersecurity starts with visibility into assets – you can’t protect what you don’t know you have. This continues to be a critical challenge for manufacturers,” Matt Fordenwalt, Rockwell’s senior vice president for lifecycle services, said in a media statement. “With the Verve acquisition, our customers can quickly assess their assets, prioritize risk, and apply countermeasures to mitigate vulnerabilities – all within a single platform. The addition of Verve to our suite of solutions allows customers to further build resiliency and continuously improve the security, safety, and availability of their operations.”

The Verve Security Center platform was built to provide IT-level security while addressing the unique challenges of the OT (operational technology) environment. At the center of the Verve platform is an asset inventory system that recognizes industrial assets, regardless of manufacturer.

Verve’s proprietary approach communicates directly with the assets, gathering critical information without impacting network performance and interrupting production. It then aggregates various data sources, including Rockwell’s partner technologies, into its platform as a ‘single pane of glass; that provides actionable insight for customers to quickly address their highest risk assets.

Verve professional services also provide ongoing remediation, along with strategic roadmap and business case development, further deepening Rockwell’s cybersecurity consulting capabilities. Going forward, customers will benefit from comprehensive capabilities that span the entire attack continuum with the combined expertise of Verve, Rockwell, and Rockwell’s technology partnerships.

“We are excited about the opportunity to join Rockwell, the leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, to further secure manufacturers’ assets around the world,” said John Livingston, CEO of Verve Industrial. “Our platform has helped clients mitigate thousands of vulnerabilities and is an important addition to Rockwell’s OT cybersecurity solutions, providing actionable intelligence to quickly mitigate cybersecurity risks, so that manufacturing facilities can stay up and running.”

A recent Rockwell Automation report found that OT and industrial control systems (ICS) attacks are on the rise, with 60 percent of the incidents studied resulting in operational disruption. As companies continually add hardware and software alongside legacy equipment in plants, many organizations struggle to manage and protect these assets across an expanded attack surface, increasing the potential for cyberattacks.

Meanwhile, the industry is plagued with significant resource and talent shortages needed to implement and manage OT cybersecurity programs. The Verve Security Center platform enables real-time asset inventory, vulnerability management, and risk remediation that will strengthen Rockwell’s current offerings and address these issues.

The Verve acquisition is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of Rockwell’s fiscal year 2024. At close, Verve will report into Rockwell’s Lifecycle Services operating segment.

In July, Honeywell announced acquisition of 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.