Scitor Corp. a leader in technology and cybersecurity integration services, will incorporate NexDefense‘s cybersecurity software, Sophia, into its industrial control system (ICS) assessment efforts.
NexDefense, a leading authority on cybersecurity for ICS, is a Signature company of the Advanced Technology Development Center.
Scitor participated in the NexDefense 2014 testing program for the preliminary version of software and chose Sophia as an ICS-specific cybersecurity solution adopted by the company to serve customers that span the commercial utilities, intelligence community, Department of Defense (DoD) and state, local and federal agencies.
Targeted cyber attacks against industrial control systems in critical infrastructure, including government facilities, have significantly increased in complexity and frequency over the past 10 years. Built to detect and respond to the needs of ICS owners and operators, NexDefense Sophia software mitigates security risks by providing real-time network monitoring, visualization, and situational awareness of essential operations. Sophia provides owners and operators the capability to maintain operational insight and passively analyze network communications without affecting safety, productivity or performance of mission-critical systems.
“Our customers are increasingly concerned with cyber attacks targeting their industrial control systems,” said Jason Nichols, Scitor’s iSpace Lab Director. “After participating in the software beta program, we’re certain that our adoption of NexDefense Sophia software as a foundational part of an ICS security Defense in Depth framework is the right choice. It will not only help us assess current risks to these systems, but also provide our customers with the ongoing real-time visibility they need to stay safe and maintain operations without any interruption.”
Scitor’s adoption of Sophia expands the period of significant growth for NexDefense. Recently, the cybersecurity company released its first significant upgrades to the software, including direct access to network assets and communication channel inventory data, deep packet industrial protocol inspection for standard and customized alerting, and enhanced visualization with increased organization and customization. The company also announced ICS cybersecurity veteran Doug Wylie as vice president of product marketing and strategy and former U.S. Senator for Georgia Sam Nunn as a member of its advisory board.
“Our relationship with Scitor is part of our strategic initiative to engage with world-leading consultancies and help mitigate contemporary security risks to mission-critical control systems,” said Mike Sayre, NexDefense CEO and co-founder. “Sophia is battle-tested, and both Scitor and its customers will benefit tremendously from the heightened awareness and actionable intelligence that it provides.”