Siemens Energy and ServiceNow to offer new cybersecurity services

Siemens Energy and ServiceNow will collaborate on a unified software service for energy companies to monitor, detect and respond to cyber threats targeting at digitally connected critical infrastructure as the energy industry experiences new levels of cyber risk, exposing flaws in existing vulnerability management and security response strategies.

The new service will combine Siemens Energy’s AI-based software from its Managed Detection and Response (MDR), powered by Eos.iiTM, and ServiceNow’s Operational Technology Management (OT Management) systems. The software is intended to create a detection engine and workflows that streamline operations for cybersecurity analysts to monitor anomalous or malicious behavior in Security Operations Centers (SOC), and energy plant operators to act on credible threat intelligence at machine speed.

“Most energy companies struggle with the complex technological and economic challenges involved in monitoring, detecting and preventing cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Our MDR, powered by Eos.ii, solution, is the first AI-based platform built to provide visibility and context across the energy industry’s digital operating environment in time to stop attacks,” said Leo Simonovich, head of Industrial Cybersecurity at Siemens Energy in a press release. “Leveraging Eos.ii’s monitoring and detection software with ServiceNow’s digital workflows will help turn cyber threat intelligence into action so plant operators can respond to incidents with precision defense at machine speed.”

"The ability to quickly turn data into action is critical to being able to proactively, reactively and remotely mitigate cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure. Yet, this is one of the biggest challenges for industrial innovation,” said Marshall Tyler, vice president of Industry Solutions at ServiceNow. “Siemens Energy is a leader in this space and together we are arming the energy industry with the insights and workflows they need to deliver critical services and protect their customers and stakeholders."

Leveraging Siemens Energy’s Eos.ii software, energy companies can turn cyber threat intelligence targeting operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks — connected to physical energy assets — into an actionable response through the ServiceNow OT Management product. This enables plant operators to act with Precision Defense, a response method to deploy appropriate, targeted and proportionate measures to correct and recover from cyber incidents. Responding to cyber threats with Precision Defense allows energy plant operators to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs while responding to incidents with little to no downtime for critical systems.

Siemens Energy’s MDR system provides a unified picture of anomalous behavior for defenders with actionable insights to stop attacks. The service goes beyond conventional monitoring by achieving a deeper understanding of how digital systems relate to the real world. With its unified OT and IT data stream, MDR’s Eos.ii technology platform uses AI and digital twin technology to compare billions of real-time data points against a correctly functioning asset. This provides context for Siemens Energy’s analysts to determine which events are abnormal and consequential.