ABB and IBM will strengthen cybersecurity for industrial operations

ABB and IBM today announced a collaboration focused on connecting cybersecurity and operational technology (OT). As a first result of this collaboration, ABB has developed a new OT security event monitoring service1 that combines ABB's process control system domain expertise with IBM's security event monitoring portfolio to help improve safety for industrial operators.

Industrial control system environments are increasingly being targeted by cyberattacks. In fact, IBM's latest X-Force Threat Intelligence Index found that attacks on industrial and manufacturing facilities have increased by more than 2,000% since 2018.

To better connect OT data with the broader IT security ecosystem, ABB has developed a new product that allows security events from ABB to be sent to IBM's security information and event management platform, QRadar.

The ABB solution is based on a reference architecture jointly developed by ABB and IBM. It provides the domain knowledge needed to quickly respond to safety incidents related to process control, especially for complex industrial processes in industries such as oil, gas, chemicals, and mining. The new event collection and forwarding software that supports this integration is currently being used by early adopters and will be widely available by ABB in the coming months.

This collaboration marks the first time that expertise in the OT data and process industry domain has been brought directly into a security information and event monitoring (SIEM) system, allowing threats to be managed as part of an organization's broader cybersecurity operations and strategy.

"ABB's partnership with IBM has dramatically improved our OT cyber threat visibility by making it possible to analyze process control incidents in the context of security and impact on the operational environment," said Robert Putman, Global Cybersecurity Services Manager. Industrial automation from ABB.

Production disruptions due to cyberattacks or technical failures can be costly in terms of lost production and damage to tangible assets. The most sophisticated operational monitoring focuses on the performance of an asset, whether it's a gas turbine for power generation, a drive system for crushing ore, or a simple monitoring of the contamination output of a chemical facility.

The new ABB offering allows ABB's process control system data collection and forwarding technology to collect event log details from ABB's process control systems and share that information with IBM Security QRadar, which uses automation and artificial intelligence to help identify security anomalies and potential threats.

Dr. Andreas Kühmachel, chief technology officer, Chemical, Petroleum and Industrial Products at IBM, said, "We see the integration of these solutions as bringing together market-leading capabilities to enable a single view of OT security. With greater visibility into OT and IT security, customers can help reduce the risk of sudden production disruptions due to security incidents, resulting in costly downtime and greater risk to the company. ”

The ABB and IBM technologies involved in the solution are designed on an open platform, enabling them to run at the edge and be easily deployed in hybrid cloud environments spanning on-premises, private or public clouds. Joint solutions are designed to enable safe processes to run by automating and not interfering with industrial workflows. Security analytics in QRadar are run through a library of use cases that automatically flag events and trigger corresponding alerts.

The two companies plan to continue working together in the OT security space to develop new features and products to address customer challenges in this area.

ABB and IBM will strengthen cybersecurity for industrial operations

ABB and IBM will strengthen cybersecurity for industrial operations

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