Cisco has announced plans to buy French Internet of Things startup Sentryo to provide discovery and security for industrial IoT networks.
Lyon, France-based Sentryo's products are used in operational technology (OT) platforms for industrial networks, and includes devices like Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs).
Many of such devices lack embedded software and security, or are not aware of all devices on the network. This has become more of a cybersecurity concern, with industrial security incidents like the cyber attack in March against Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro.
Cisco wants to use the Sentryo and its technology to address specific problems with these industrial control networks. Those include the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) to discover IoT and OT assets on industrial networks, and to establish communication patterns between devices and networks. Cisco said it will integrate the Sentryo sensor with the Cisco DNA Center and Identity Services Engine to define segmentation policy.
Sentryo also provides operational visibility to devices like PLCs and RTUs. This can include PLC Start/Stop and other programming changes on the network.
The acquisition is expected to close before the end of Cisco's first-quarter fiscal year 2020, which is Oct. 26, 2019.
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— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading