Honeywell opens cyber security lab

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has opened an industrial cyber security lab to advance new technologies and software for defending industrial facilities and plants against cyber attacks.

Located in Georgia, US, the lab includes a model of a process control network for use in research, training, and development and certification of industrial cyber security solutions.

It is hoped that the lab will help accelerate development of new cyber protection technologies and speed availability to customers.

“Many of our customers have come to us looking for cyber security solutions to defend their industrial facilities, operations and people from damage, disruption and misuse,” said Jeff Zindel, global business leader for Cyber Security, HPS.

“They understand the very real threat that is out there, and they want to be more proactive in guarding against it.”

HPS said it had also added a number of cyber security experts to increase the bench strength of its development and business teams.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), reported cyber incidents on industrial targets have risen by more than 25% since 2011.

ICS-CERT’s latest report also said that in 40% of reported incidents, experts did not know how hackers intruded the system because of a lack of detection and monitoring capabilities.

Similar concerns were reflected in a global survey on cyber security conducted last year on behalf of Honeywell. In that survey, more than 75% of respondents from 10 countries said they were fearful that cyber criminals could disrupt major sectors of the economy, and identified the oil and gas, chemicals and power industries as particularly vulnerable.

Over the past decade, the Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security group said it had delivered more than 1,000 industrial cyber security projects globally.

“We have a successful history of providing cyber defence solutions for our industrial customers and this new cyber lab expands our capabilities,” said Zindel.

“We will be able to validate new solutions faster in a variety of scenarios and increase our customers’ defences against the growing threat of cyber attacks.”