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Honeywell buys SCADAfence to boost cybersecurity suite
Honeywell is buying the Israeli industrial cybersecurity start-up SCADAfence for an undisclosed sum. SCADAfence supplies OT (operational technology) and IoT (Internet of Things) cybersecurity systems for monitoring large-scale industrial and building management networks.
The acquisition strengthens Honeywell’s capabilities in cybersecurity and bolsters its high-growth OT cybersecurity portfolio. SCADAfence will expand its Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence located in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Honeywell, which now employs more than 500 employees worldwide focused on OT cybersecurity, plans to integrate the SCADAfence portfolio into its Forge Cybersecurity+ suite, allowing it to offer end-to-end OT cybersecurity protection.
“SCADAfence is an ideal complement to Honeywell's OT cybersecurity portfolio and, when combined with the Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity+ suite, it enables us to provide an end-to-end solution with applicability to asset, site and enterprise across key Honeywell sectors” says Kevin Dehoff, president and CEO of Honeywell Connected Enterprise. “By enhancing our cybersecurity portfolio, we are accessing a growth engine and enabling our customers to operate their OT environments more securely and help to avoid disruption and possible catastrophic events.”
The industrial cybersecurity market is predicted to be worth more than $10bn within a few years. Cyberattacks targeting OT systems can cause unplanned downtime, which the ARC Advisory Group estimates could represent more than a trillion dollars in lost revenue for the industrial and critical infrastructure sectors every year.
“It is essential to protect and maintain the integrity of operational systems like process control equipment in manufacturing facilities,” says Dehoff. “A simple breach in the OT environment has the potential to create safety and business continuity risk for organisations of all sizes.
“OT assets are inherently different than those in the IT environment as they are domain-specific,” he adds. “Honeywell has been delivering and installing these systems for decades, which is why we launched our cybersecurity business more than 20 years ago. Adding SCADAfence's product portfolio will strengthen our capabilities and help our customers defend themselves against cybersecurity risks which are progressively increasing.”
SCADAfence, which was founded in 2015 and employs around 60 people, has previously attracted $40m of backing, including $16m earlier this year from investors including Mitsubishi and Fujitsu.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
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