Honeywell and Intel Security to collaborate on industrial cybersecurity

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) and Intel Security have announced they will collaborate to help bolster protection of critical industrial infrastructure and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Intel Security’s McAfee technologies will be integrated with Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security Solutions, providing Honeywell customers with enhanced security software to protect their control systems from malware and misuse.

The HPS Industrial Cyber Security Solutions group has a dedicated global team of industrial cybersecurity experts that provide products, services and technologies to help protect industrial automation and control systems against cyberthreats. The collaboration between Intel Security and HPS will combine the latest advances in cybersecurity technology with Honeywell’s industrial process domain knowledge to provide tailored security solutions for the industrial environment.

“The threat of cyber attacks on industrial and critical infrastructure targets is growing rapidly and our customers are demanding effective cybersecurity to assist them in protecting their assets and people. Working with Intel Security expands our capabilities to enhance the availability, reliability and safety of customers’ industrial control systems and plant operations,” said Jeff Zindel, global business leader for Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security Solutions group. “Our collaboration with Intel Security will enable integrated, validated solutions for our industrial process customers to more rapidly deploy and better protect their investment. This approach is critical to enable the productivity potential of Honeywell automation solutions and the Industrial Internet of Things.”

The growing threat of cyber attacks to industrial targets is a major global concern according to a global survey on cybersecurity conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in September 2014 on behalf of Honeywell. Two-thirds of those surveyed thought that the oil and gas, chemicals and power industries were particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Initially, Honeywell will qualify Intel Security’s Application Whitelisting and Device Control with its own proprietary cybersecurity for its Experion Process Knowledge System, providing a fully vetted and qualified solution designed to increase security without sacrificing reliability. Honeywell is also offering Intel Security’s Enterprise Security Manager and Next Generation Firewall to its customers. The products will be supported by Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security Risk Manager, which provides a continuous evaluation of cybersecurity risks within industrial environments. The McAfee Application Whitelisting maintains system integrity by allowing only authorised code to run. McAfee Device Control allows users to specify and categorise what data can and cannot be transferred to various plug-in devices. The Honeywell qualification of Intel Security’s Application Whitelisting and Device Control is a tangible result of this strategic relationship.

The benefits from the integration include:

• tested, proven and validated protection from known and unknown malware threats against systems using the Experion Process Knowledge System;
• consistent protection for both connected and air-gapped systems with no additional need for signature updates;
• change to policy enforcement so that system changes are made according to authorised policy and process;
• integrated management and analysis of cybersecurity risk using Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security Risk Manager;
• the ability to work in isolated systems within industrial control systems, without having access to the internet or any other network.

“Protecting our critical infrastructure and the emerging IIoT from cyber threats is a priority, and the collaboration of two industry leaders will go a long way toward that goal,” said Raj Samani, vice president and chief technology officer, Intel Security. “Technologies in the IIoT space have a tremendous amount of potential, and we can’t let security concerns undermine that; instead, security has to enable the growth of IIoT, and that’s what our engagement with Honeywell will do.”