- Paramount launches new division for SCADA and Process Control Security, providing world leading technology from Industrial Defender
Paramount, the leading regional provider of products and services for securing the Information Assets of Enterprises in the Middle East, has floated a new business division for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Process Control security and have signed a partnership agreement with Industrial Defender, the global leader in Cyber Risk Protection™.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Premchand Kurup, CEO of Paramount said, “Across the world in recent times, as a result the of migration of control networks from obscure to IP based, vulnerabilities in these networks are being exploited increasingly by hackers, terrorists and individuals bent on disruption and destruction. These systems face threats from computer virus proliferation as well as human error. Many process control/SCADA issues have impacted critical infrastructures costing millions of dollars, loss of credibility with company stakeholders and risks to public safety.
As the leading IT security systems integrator in the region, we realized that we needed to dedicate a specialized division to provide consultancy and technology to the Oil and Gas, Real Estate, Transportation, Heavy Industries, Chemical and Defence industries and critical government infrastructures, that needs a different approach than traditional IT security. Hence our decision to open a new division for SCADA and Process Control Security.
With nearly two decades of experience in the process control/SCADA environment and all of the security components in place now, Industrial Defender is a pioneer and the only company in the world that can fully protect industrial environments against increasing cyber security threats and help companies meet upcoming global regulatory compliance deadlines. “Paramount is proud and happy to partner with a world leader like Industrial Defender and we believe that this association will add a significant value to our customer engagements”, added Mr Kurup.
Mr. Matt Auer, Director-International Operations, Industrial Defender commented on the partnership, “Paramount has an illustrious list of clients and project implementations in the region, a large number of certified technical staff and is the only regional IT security company in the Middle East providing a holistic solution encompassing all three aspects – technology, process and people. We thus see Paramount as the perfect partner to help Industrial Defender achieve it’s business and marketing objectives in the Middle East”.
A SCADA system collects data from various remote sites and makes it available in a central location for subsequent processing. Because of the distances involved and obstacles along the path, data is typically transmitted over radio, microwave or satellite links, over a dial-up or leased landline. Apart from the different media, a whole range of mostly proprietary protocols exist. SCADA architecture provides a platform for improved access to real-time measurements and instrument diagnostics at remote locations. Critical business data and information that is extracted from the industrial control system environment is used to maximize production lifecycles, profit margins, and the return on corporate assets.
The convergence of the enterprise IT domain, and the real-time process control and SCADA domains is introducing significant cyber security risk. The proliferation of IT business system integration, internet usage, remote access, outsourced services, and terrorist threats is significantly elevating the cyber security risk threat within the critical infrastructure domain. A cyber security incident within the enterprise IT domain may create an intangible consequence of inconvenience for an employee, department, or organization with a disruption to an email server, database, or web site. The consequence of a cyber attack in a real-time process control or SCADA environment is more tangible and significant and may have a far reaching physical, economic, and social impact on the population.
