Swimlane and Nozomi Networks integration elevates the protection of OT and critical infrastructure

Swimlane and Nozomi Networks have announced a technology integration that combines low-code security automation with operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) security.

The combined solution makes it possible for industrial and critical infrastructure security operations to maintain continuous asset compliance and mitigate the risks of attacks from combined OT and IT entry points.

Critical infrastructure environments such as healthcare, utilities, transportation and food production are increasingly seen as vulnerable and lucrative targets based on the ability to disrupt society.

As attacks on critical infrastructure continue to rise, the need to enhance protection for OT and cyber-physical systems (CPS) with more advanced, low-code security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) capabilities that cross IT and OT is paramount.

Yet, according to Gartner, roughly 90% of OT security teams are still in the remedial phases of protection (e.g. discovery, patching, and firefighting).

“Critical infrastructure is facing a surge in targeted attacks and an ongoing shortage of cybersecurity expertise to detect and respond to these OT and IT attacks,” said Chet Namboodri, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Alliances at Nozomi Networks.

“By partnering with Swimlane, we are empowering customers with an IT/OT converged and more automated approach to accelerating their response to incidents against their critical infrastructure.”, Namboodri continued.

The Swimlane and Nozomi Networks integration elevates the protection of OT and critical infrastructure with multiple benefits:

• Real-time incident response capabilities: The integration enables security analysts to respond to threats in near real-time through either a fully automated response, or via a single-click triage action when human-in-the-loop interaction is required. Presenting OT security operation teams with early detection information helps reduce the risk of the most sophisticated breaches while compressing the mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) and mean-time-to-respond (MTTR).
• Automated asset management, compliance and defense: By leveraging Nozomi Networks’ discovery and vulnerability detection, a complete and autonomous process can be deployed utilizing Swimlane to orchestrate managed patching of critical systems, preventative patching across OT assets and a reduced attack surface for would-be attackers.
• SOC automation suite and system of record: The Swimlane platform enables IT and OT security teams to connect their processes through a common lens. This not only provides increased visibility across joint initiatives but enables distributed security personnel to seamlessly work cases as situations dictate using the same interface.

“While critical infrastructure providers face the same IT-based security challenges of other industries, the threat is exacerbated by an entirely new set of attack vectors targeting OT infrastructure,” said Mike Kay, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Swimlane.

“Partnering with Nozomi Networks puts customers on the front foot of defending their critical assets. Together, we are closing the security gap by combining best-in-class security automation with OT and IoT security technology to help teams advance their operational and security preparedness.”, Kay added.