ABB and IBM to Bolster Cybersecurity for Industrial Operations

ABB and IBM 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 security for industrial operators.

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

The ABB solution was designed according to a reference architecture jointly developed by ABB and IBM.  It provides the domain knowledge needed to swiftly react to security incidents related to process control and is especially suited for complex industrial processes in industries, such as oil, gas, chemicals and mining.  The new event collection and forwarding software that enables this integration is currently being used by early adopter customers and will be made broadly available by ABB in the coming months.

The new ABB offering allows ABB’s process control system data collection and forwarding technology to harvest event log detail from ABB 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.

The ABB and IBM technologies involved in this solution are designed on open platforms allowing them to operate on the edge and deploy easily across hybrid cloud environments spanning on-premise, private or public clouds.  The joint solution is designed so that security processes operate via automation and do not disturb industrial workflows.  The security analysis in QRadar operates through a use case library, which automatically flags incidents and triggers corresponding alarms.

The two companies plan continued collaboration in the realm of OT security, in order to develop new capabilities and offerings that address customer challenges in this space.