Several companies have joined forces to launch the Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition, which claims its goal is to help strengthen the defenses of industrial control systems (ICS) and critical infrastructure in the United States.
The OT Cyber Coalition was founded by industrial giant Honeywell and cybersecurity companies Forescout, Claroty, Nozomi Networks and Tenable.
The coalition will work with government and industry stakeholders for the development of vendor-neutral, standards-based cybersecurity solutions.
The group says proprietary solutions should be avoided and a technology-neutral approach is needed to ensure interoperability, which “will encourage critical infrastructure owners and operators to choose the solutions that work best for them.”
The OT Cyber Coalition is a lobbying group that, according to the Wall Street Journal, plans on registering to lobby lawmakers and officials, and it could also seek legal status as a trade association.
The group will advocate for the government to maintain a neutrality posture in terms of technology, while also incentivizing the development of a larger community of cybersecurity vendors.
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On its website, the group says it will offer expertise to the government and critical infrastructure owners and operators on standards, best practices and policy impact. It also aims to become a “trusted advisor to policymakers,” providing feedback on proposals and advancing its own ideas.
The group will also advocate for federal civilian agencies to get more funding for the implementation of OT cybersecurity measures.
“Our combined customer base represents the largest and most impactful organizations in critical infrastructure,” said Shawn Taylor, VP of Threat Defense at Forescout. “We have the potential to collect asset information, vulnerability data, threats and security incidents, and risk status to provide real time insight and data to help support the US government, asset owners and operators as part of our collective defense mission.”
“Our companies represent the entire OT lifecycle, and can be leveraged strategically by the U.S. Government in an advisory capacity and by critical infrastructure operators to protect themselves and improve our national preparedness,” said Marty Edwards, VP of Operational Technology Security at Tenable.
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