With critical infrastructure increasingly becoming the target of withering cyberattacks, Darktrace has launched a new business unit for machine learning-driven industrial cybersecurity.
Darktrace Industrial is the name of the new unit, and it is intended to be able to identify existing compromises in systems, in addition to monitoring for new attacks.
The new unit is also intended to bridge the gap between legacy systems that are deeply ingrained in an organisation, and the new, cutting edge technologies that are required to handle today’s threats.
In an update of the product, Darktrace Industrial Immune System version 3, the company states that legacy systems will receive new support, while also aiming to support non-traditional technologies such as IoT.
Andrew Tsonchev, Director of Technology at Darktrace Industrial, said: “With increased digitization and the rise of the Industrial Internet of Things, the need for cyber security within operational environments has never been higher… Darktrace has a four-year investment in the Industrial Immune System, the world’s first and only proven machine learning technology capable of detecting emerging attacks on OT environments, including ‘low and slow’ attacks, and ‘unknown unknowns.’”
Darktrace has implemented mathematical techniques in the new unit, stating its intention to use these techniques to detect low and slow attacks. This kind of attack has caused shock across the IT industry, with years passing in some cases before attacks are even identified.
Michael Sherwood, Director of Technology and Innovation, City of Las Vegas, said: “Cyber-threats to critical infrastructure are evolving at a pace that is nearly impossible to keep up with, and coupled with the escalated international attention to ICS threats, the security of our systems is our utmost business priority.”
HPE to Flex in-memory computing muscles with Superdome platform
Monzo banks £71m as it marches on toward current accounts
Gemalto slash security costs with on-demand SaaS platform
Among the main challenges faced by industrial systems are the explosion of connected devices, remote maintenance operations, and sensors, contributing to a major challenge for industrial networks governed by outdated systems.
“Darktrace Industrial is fundamentally changing the game of ICS cyber defense – armed with its machine learning technology, we feel confident in our ability to identify the subtle and increasingly sophisticated attacks threatening our infrastructure. The Industrial Immune System’s combination of genuine AI and unprecedented visibility heralds a new future for proactively defending OT environments,” Sherwood said.
