Collaboration to support commitment to IoT security market

Security and the threat of cyber-attacks are emerging as key concerns for industrial companies; such as power and utilities seeking to protect revenue, as well as network safety and reliability.

This collaboration brings new capabilities to the market as the first security solution of its kind optimised for industrial networks, enabling full industrial network security with a simple software installation in managed industrial switches.

“Our collaboration with Veracity underscores Microsemi’s commitment to enable and accelerate the transition of industrial networks to Ethernet with broad offerings of silicon, system and software solutions,” said Larry O’Connell, Director of Product Marketing at Microsemi. “Veracity’s security software solution, combined with Microsemi’s Ethernet switch portfolio, will enable industrial companies to easily secure their Ethernet networks with minimal software and hardware upgrades, unlike alternatives which require a complex and costly network overhaul.“

Microsemi has also invested in Veracity. This investment is part of an early stage raise allowing Veracity to fund its product development efforts to address security needs of an ever growing landscape of industrial threats. This minority position will enable Microsemi to further collaborate with Veracity to deliver innovative security solutions to its strategic customers.

“Internet of Things (IoT) security applications are an important part of our long-term growth at Microsemi, and we are committed to building upon our market advantages,” said Steve Litchfield, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Microsemi. “Security needs within the IoT market are growing significantly, with Gartner currently forecasting the demand for connected things to reach 11.4bn devices in 2018, and  we believe hardware-based security for IoT is a key differentiator—particularly in industrial and automotive applications.”

Microsemi is addressing several levels of security threats in all of the company’s feature sets and looking to invest in differentiated technologies to build upon its technology capabilities. For example, industrial network security is typically done in isolation or by implementing a firewall between the corporate and industrial network. Using Veracity’s software on Microsemi’s switch platform, customers can quickly and seamlessly add security applications and policies to existing networks centrally, without making costly changes to the network topology or incurring network downtime. This innovative approach delivers centralised security orchestration with distributed execution, improving the efficiency, resiliency and security of OT networks. It also reduces downtime without adding another layer of network complexity. Target applications for the collaborative security solutions include industrial automation, process control and smart grid/smart energy.

Potential losses of more than $1trn, resulting from a possible cyber attack on the U.S. power grid, have been estimated by a Cambridge University study in partnership with Lloyds. In order to combat these increasingly sophisticated attacks, industrial network owners will spend more than $9bn in 2016 and more than $11.3bn by 2019, according to market research firm ARC Advisory Group.

“Security is top of mind for industrial companies, including utilities, in the wake of cyber attacks like we recently saw in the Ukraine, where a coordinated exploit on the electric grid plunged more than 230,000 homes and businesses into the dark,”  said Paul Myer, CEO of Veracity. “We are pleased to share our expertise in network security software with an industry leader like Microsemi, which is bringing next generation security features to the market with its latest integrated circuits and reference designs.”

Veracity network security provides complete network visibility and control with applications that deliver programmable security zones and a proactive policy engine based upon pre-defined risk categories and prioritised remediation. The company provides an innovative and comprehensive security platform that is complimentary to existing OT networks. As a leader in the industrial market, Microsemi is leveraging the relationship with Veracity to bring these capabilities to its customers in the security and communications markets by incorporating Veracity’s security software into its existing and new product designs.

The new security solutions from Microsemi and Veracity for the industrial Ethernet market will be available the second half of 2016.