ForeScout Acquires Industrial Cybersecurity Firm SecurityMatters

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By Michela Menting | 4Q 2018 | IN-5311

ForeScout Technologies, a U.S.-based firm focusing on cybersecurity since 2000, has been making a successful pivot to the Internet of Things (IoT) security space in the last few years. The firm just announced the acquisition of SecurityMatters for US$113 million. SecurityMatters is a European-based outfit that specializes in industrial cyber-resilience. Its flagship product, SilentDefense, provides security for Operational Technology (OT) networks, primarily in critical infrastructure industries such as electric power, oil and gas, water, chemicals, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and infrastructure.

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US$113 Million Deal

NEWS


ForeScout Technologies, a U.S.-based firm focusing on cybersecurity since 2000, has been making a successful pivot to the Internet of Things (IoT) security space in the last few years. The firm just announced the acquisition of SecurityMatters for US$113 million. SecurityMatters is a European-based outfit that specializes in industrial cyber-resilience. Its flagship product, SilentDefense, provides security for Operational Technology (OT) networks, primarily in critical infrastructure industries such as electric power, oil and gas, water, chemicals, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and infrastructure.

Expanding from IoT to Include Industrial

IMPACT


SecurityMatters is a veteran in the industrial cybersecurity space. The firm has been operating for almost a decade and has worked hard to provide security mechanisms for industrial control systems and OT networks. As such, it has a strong integration track record with companies in the industrial space, such as Siemens, Rockwell, Schneider, Honeywell, General Electric (GE), ABB, and Emerson, among many others. Significantly, it has managed to extend this partnership effort with companies in the traditional cybersecurity and Information Technology (IT) space (e.g., Cisco, Skybox Security, ForeScout, PaloAlto, Check Point, Fortinet, IBM, Splunk, ArchSight, Alien Vault, etc.), providing integration of both disciplines for its platform. SecurityMatters is one of the first movers focusing specifically on security in this IT and OT convergence dynamics.

For ForeScout, this expertise and deep integration will complement its current portfolio rather well. In the last few years, the firm has expanded its focus from the traditional enterprise cybersecurity space to also include an IoT play, especially in commercial settings. The firm’s focus has been on network visibility and protection through its flagship offering, the CounterAct platform. Complemented by a device cloud and, more recently, an IoT risk assessment platform, the firm has been aiming to extend its reach to all types of Internet Protocol– (IP-)enabled devices, whether those are Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) or medical devices.

The acquisition will enable ForeScout to bring under its umbrella the more complex industrial devices—often proprietary—that are of a legacy nature and that are sometimes relatively obscure. Having this capability will allow it to truly offer security for IT and OT, and not just IoT.

Modern Cybersecurity: Embracing IT and OT Convergence

RECOMMENDATIONS


The move is in line with market dynamics around smart evolution, notably for critical infrastructures. Utilities, power generation, transportation—these sectors all are undergoing some form of digital transformation and increased connectivity in a bid to make them smarter, more efficient, and more competitive. Further, many will include noncritical devices in the mix as well. This is important, as a lot of the security focus has been on how to best protect critical assets and critical systems. But in a large infrastructure deployment, there will be many smart devices and sensors being connected that may not necessarily be considered critical in nature but that nonetheless require protection. This is because these devices, if left unsecured, present threat vectors and weak links that can be exploited to penetrate the larger networks, effectively allowing malicious actors to escalate and attack more critical systems.

Consequently, the protection of OT encompasses all manner of critical and noncritical assets. And of course, the convergence with IT means that companies have to look at all angles. For this reason, cybersecurity as a discipline has to grow beyond its current digital confines and start encompassing devices that have either been unsecured or not considered important enough to warrant protection. The advantage of ForeScout’s solution is that it provides visibility first, thereby enabling companies to make their own assessments about risk and liability. It is only with the complete information that companies can make informed decisions about how to protect assets. But certainly, having the capability to address all threats, from traditional IT to a critical control system to a seemingly benign IoT sensor, will add a significant competitive advantage to a security company that can pull it off.

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