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Experienced freelance B2B journalist and editor, specialising in fields of renewable energy, energy storage, smart grids and nanotech.
March 24, 2017

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Whitepaper: Multi-residential access management – The move to digital

Atos and Siemens to offer cybersecurity tools and services to US utilities and oil and gas sectors

Global IT services provider Atos is expanding its partnership with engineering firm Siemens to provide utilities and oil and gas companies in the US with integrated solutions to tackle cyber attacks.

Following the establishment of a global alliance in 2011, the firms do already cooperate in the area of cybersecurity, providing manufacturers and other industrial customers with comprehensive security products and related services.

As energy and other utilities increasingly rely on software to enable more reliable and efficient operations, cyber-threats pose more risk to their businesses and the need to boost cyber defences, not just in terms of meeting compliance regulations, to secure operations.

For instance, in the oil and gas sector, where digitalization is leading to a convergence between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) data travels from the field, to the control room to the enterprise network, creating the demand for security solutions to address the crossover between IT and OT.

According to a recent study by the independent Ponemon Institute nearly 70% of US oil and gas cyber managers said their operations have been exposed to at least one security compromise in the past year, resulting in the loss of confidential information or OT disruption, which highlights the need for the oil and gas industry to increase its cyber defences.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to expand the Siemens and Atos relationship as US utilities, oil and gas industries are realizing the extent of cybersecurity challenges when moving into a digitized and connected ecosystem,” said Michel-Alain Proch, Atos’ North America CEO.

By combining their respective portfolios, customers benefit from an end-to-end set of tools aimed at improving cyber defences, innovative approaches to security analytics plus better detection and response capabilities.

“Customers will see tangible advantages in cost and risk reductions, as well as enhanced performance and flexibility gains,” said Proch.

Atos’ capabilities include IT, identity access management, real-time security analytics, next-generation cryptography and software-defined security architecture.

Siemens is focused on deep domain know-how and OT-related cyber tools, including security programme design, security life cycle management, plant security monitoring and incident response.

IFSEC International is launching Borders and Infrastructure for its 2017 edition. Find out more about this new “show within a show” dedicated to the protection of utilities and other critical national infrastructure, as well as perimeter security, border security and counter terror

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