ABB joins new global cybersecurity alliance for operational technology

Zurich, Switzerland, October 22, 2019 - Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance will develop comprehensive cybersecurity guidelines for operational technology infrastructure

ABB, a leader in digital technology for industries, has joined a new alliance to provide a technical and organizational framework for safe and secure operational technology (OT). The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) aims to bridge dangerous gaps in security for OT and critical infrastructures and industrial control systems (ICS) to support and improve the daily lives of citizens and workers in an evolving world. Industry leaders Check Point Software, BlackBerry Cylance, Forescout, Fortinet, Microsoft, Mocana, NCC Group, Qualys, SCADAFence, Splunk and Wärtsilä have partnered with ABB to establish the OTCSA. 

“With complete 360-degree cybersecurity data-protection capabilities, ABB understands the critical importance of cybersecurity in systems and solutions for infrastructure and industry,” said Satish Gannu, Chief Security Officer, ABB & Senior Vice President Architecture and Analytics, ABB Ability™. “We are confident the OTCSA will deliver a framework for much-needed solutions, at a time when industrial customers live in a world of increasingly sophisticated threats, putting organizations at risk of potentially catastrophic losses.” 

The OTCSA mission is five-fold: 

•  Strengthen cyber-physical risk posture of OT environments and interfaces for OT/IT interconnectivity
•  Guide OT operators on how to protect their OT infrastructure based on a risk management process and reference architectures/designs which are demonstrably compliant with regulations and international standards such as IEC 62443
•  Guide OT suppliers on secure OT system architectures, relevant interfaces and security functionalities    
•  Support the procurement, development, installation, operation, maintenance, and implementation of a safer, more secure critical infrastructure
•  Shorten the time to adoption of safer, more secure critical infrastructures 

With 60 percent of organizations using ICS indicating that they experienced a breach in their systems in the past year, and 97 percent acknowledging security challenges because of the convergence of IT and OT(1), the need for the OTCSA is critical. Cyber-attacks on OT and critical infrastructures are on the rise and they are impacting operations and representing a business risk across all industries – from disrupting manufacturing processes and utility systems to halting safety systems. Threats to OT can have potential impacts in scope and scale greater than in information-only environments, including loss of life, ecological damage and negative financial impact.

“Critical infrastructures and industrial control systems are essential to organization revenue and profits and the global economy,” said Gannu. “Industry collaboration to establish architectural, implementation and process guidelines is required to quickly advance the posture of OT, which is already a decade behind IT when it comes to security.”

Until now, there has been no industry group focused on improving cyber risk posture by providing tangible architectural, implementation, and process guidelines to OT operators and IT/OT solution providers so that they can navigate necessary changes, upgrades and integrations to evolving industry standards and regulations. These robust security guidelines will cover the entire lifecycle - procurement, development, deployment, installation, operation, maintenance and decommission - and address aspects related to people, process, and technology.

OTCSA promotes collaboration amongst leading IT and OT companies, thought leaders in the cybersecurity community, and vendors and OT operators from a variety of industries. Membership is open to any company that operates critical infrastructure or general OT systems to run its business (OT operators) as well as companies providing IT and OT solutions (solution providers).  

To learn more about the OTCSA or becoming a member, visit: www.otcsalliance.org. 

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com 

Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) is a group of global industry-leading organizations focused on providing operational technology (OT) operators with resources and guidance to mitigate their cyber risk in an evolving world. Founded in 2019, OTCSA is the first group of its kind to architect a technical and organizational framework – the who, what and how – for safe and secure OT. Membership is open to all OT operators and IT/OT solution providers. Current members include ABB, Check Point Software, BlackBerry Cylance, Forescout, Fortinet, Microsoft, Mocana, NCC Group, Qualys, SCADAFence, Splunk and Wärtsilä. 

(1) Forrester consulting study commissioned and published by Fortinet, May 2018

Contact: Media Relations, media.relations@ch.abb.com, +41 43 317 71 11

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