Verano, Betrusted team on security services

Mansfield, MA; New York, NY— Verano and Betrusted have allied to offer what they call the first managed cybersecurity services for the industrial environment, from the plant-floor through IT. The two companies have been working for about four months on plans for joint marketing, consulting, and sales, along with engineering to fit Verano’s Industrial Defender security management system to Betrusted’s security monitoring operation centers. Their joint Aug. 9 announcement offers “the first end-to-end global security solution for mission-critical industries.”

Verano offered primarily an industrial security deployed appliance, previously, with very limited consulting and services. Verano’s Industrial Defender is said to be the first cybersecurity management system designed specifically for industrial operations. Betrusted provides its clients with visibility and protection against IT cybersecurity threats. Together Betrusted and Verano will market and sell Industrial Defender professional and managed security services to power, energy, water, process, and mass transportation organizations.

First step for a customer would be for Verano and Betrusted to provide consulting services, including a security assessment at the enterprise and plant levels. This would be followed by a recommendation and deployment of cybersecurity technology, for enterprise data protection and for mission-critical control systems. Then Betrusted’s managed security services can provide around-the-clock management and monitoring of the deployed security technology from the enterprise to the plant.

“Partnering with Verano allows us to expand our professional and managed security services into mission-critical industries, differentiating Betrusted from its competitors,” says Kerry Bailey, Betrusted’s Americas CEO. “Together, we offer the most-powerful solution available to ensure highly reliable, available and secure, control system infrastructure.”

Brian Ahern, Verano’s president and CEO, adds that, “Until we launched Industrial Defender last year, mission-critical facilities did not have a cybersecurity technology option that could monitor and protect their real-time control systems and networks. By partnering with Betrusted, we can offer a holistic solution, covering the entire security lifecycle of mission-critical infrastructure, protecting it from increased global cybersecurity threats.”

In comments to Control Engineering , Ahern and Bailey suggested that the agreement is the right move at the right time between the right partners. Ahern noted that many industrial facilities have significant gaps in software security capabilities, and that “plant staffs are not getting any larger. People are going to be looking to an outsourcing model as they see the value of mitigating risk.” This kind of help will be especially appreciated when the control engineer doesn’t know how to respond to a software security situation at 1 a.m., he explains.

Bailey adds that enterprises are looking to higher-level, integrated, end-to-end security solutions from those with understanding in specific industries. “With our global and operational capabilities, we have the ability to see real-world threats as they move across the globe,” says Bailey. Pricing will vary, depending on needs, but Bailey offered that a typical enterprise security service might run $1,500-2,000 per month.

Betrusted calls itself “the premier global provider of security and trust services to the world’s leading organizations and government agencies.” Verano says it is a leading provider of security solutions for mission-critical industrial operations, with more than more than 2,200 system installations globally across 220 industrial enterprises in power generation, utilities, energy, transportation, and process manufacturing industries.

For related coverage from Control Engineering, read: ‘ Verano launches protection appliance for industrial operations ‘ and ‘ Open and secure controls .’

Control Engineering Daily News DeskMark T. Hoske, editor-in-chiefMHoske@cfemedia.com

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