Signal transmission company Belden has acquired Byres Security to improve its ability to protect industrial automation systems from cyber attack and enhance its networking platform.
Over the past year industrial control system and SCADA operators have seen a large number of PLC vulnerabilities disclosed and the Stuxnet cyber attack; this has driven the company to purchase Byres Security
“There is now high interest in improving cyber security at both the plant and management levels of organizations,” the company said in a statement.
Tofino Industrial Security Solution
Belden says Byres’ award-winning Tofino security technology has in particular strengthened its industrial networking solutions
Tofino Industrial Security Solution is BSI’s flagship product. It combines security appliances with loadable software modules to protect industrial networks from external cyber threats and internal network accidents.
The technology is designed to be put into service without plant shutdowns and with simple implementation steps.
Tofino Security is used by the process control, SCADA, manufacturing and automation industries, including power generation (conventional and alternative), transmission and distribution, factory and process automation, oil and gas, traffic and railway, embedded systems, and manufacturing.
Belden has been using Tofino Security technology in its Eagle line of security products for the past two years. BSI was using Belden’s Hirschmann hardware in many of its Tofino Security products over the same period.
In 2010, the Tofino solution received the Frost & Sullivan’s World Customer Value Enhancement Award, which annually honours the product that best enhances customer value in the industrial automation and electronics industries.
Acquisition
BSI will run as an independent business unit under Belden, and the Tofino Security brand will remain the same.
BSI will continue:
- Developing technology for robust industrial control system security;
- Helping companies adopt industrial security solutions;
- Advocating for a higher level of industrial cyber security within organisations;
- Contributing to the development of industrial cyber security standards.
The founders of BST, Eric and Joann Byres, will remain the head of Byres Security (Joann as General Manager and Eric as CTO and VP of Engineering) and are committed to developing the business for many years.
Belden designs, manufactures and markets signal transmission solutions, including cables, connectors and I/O modules, wireless network systems as well as network devices and control, load sensing and load moment limitation systems designed for safety-critical applications ranging from industrial automation to data centres, broadcast studios and the aviation and aerospace industry.
With manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, Belden had a total revenue of $US1.62 billion for 2010.
Belden’s product portfolio includes Hirschmann and Lumberg Automation brands
