Intel Security (fomerly McAfee) has announced a security platform designed to protect both new and legacy infrastructure within the electric power grid.
Dubbed Intel Security Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), the solution was developed in collaboration with the Department of Energy-funded Discovery Across Texas smart grid project including deployment at Texas Tech University, and is a joint project of Intel Security and Wind River.
Intel Security CIP works by separating the security management functions of the platform from the operational applications, allowing the operational layer to be secured, monitored and managed, the company explained.
According to Intel Security, the security platform can be applied with little or no changes to business processes or application software, and can be retrofitted onto many existing systems.
Features include protection such as device identity, malware protection, data protection and resiliency.
Intel believes the solution can be leveraged beyond the power grid and could be equally effective for departments of defense, oil and gas firms, medical applications, and other areas.
According to a study sponsored by Intel, “In the Dark: Crucial Industries Confront Cyberattacks,” of the 200 CIP executives surveyed globally, 32% had not adopted special security measures for smart grid controls. Yet 33% anticipated a major cybersecurity incident within 12 months.
Related: Learn More at the 2015 ICS Cyber Security Conference
“The risk of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure is no longer theoretical, but building security into the grid is challenging due to the amount of legacy infrastructure and the importance of availability of service,” Lorie Wigle, Vice President of Internet of Things Security Solutions for Intel Security, said in a statement. “Traditional security measures such as patching and rebooting are often inappropriate for the grid, so we set out to design something entirely different that could be non-invasive but simultaneously robust
“From December 2013 to January 2015, the Intel Security CIP was in a field trial at Texas Tech University, where it performed as required by NIST standards and withstood penetration testing, as well as protected the synchrophasor applications during the Heartbleed vulnerability and Havex attacks,” said Milton Holloway, President & COO, Center for the Commercialization of Electric Technologies. “This project was an outstanding example of a successful public-private partnership in that it produced technologies that are market-ready. What could be a better outcome of a demonstration project?”
