Waterfall Security Solutions, a global leader in cybersecurity technologies for critical infrastructure and industrial control systems, announced support of its Unidirectional CloudConnect for GE Predix, the Industrial Internet Platform, enabling customers to securely connect their industrial sites with cloud services. In addition, Waterfall’s Unidirectional CloudConnect provides real-time translation of industrial systems, formats, and protocols to fit GE Predix’s cloud.
In the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) ecosystem, industrial plant assets and devices generate data that is critical to maintaining safe and reliable operations. As the IIoT is driven by business benefits and dramatic efficiency improvements, such as predictive maintenance, many industrial customers are considering connecting to industrial clouds, notably GE’s Predix. However, concerns for cybersecurity due to increased attacks and the lack of compatibility between cloud platforms and industrial systems significantly inhibit cloud adoption.
The Unidirectional CloudConnect uses Waterfall’s Unidirectional Gateway technology that physically prevents cyberattacks from any external network, including the Internet and any cloud, from entering an industrial network. The technology creates an impassable, physical barrier to external online attacks, while continuously populating cloud systems with real-time data from protected control systems and devices.
To facilitate rapid IIOT adoption into GE’s Predix Cloud, Waterfall Security has added support of its Unidirectional CloudConnect to enable GE Predix developers to gather data securely from various devices and SCADA protocols and data from OT systems, followed by real-time translation of all of them into the GE Predix cloud protocol.
Keywords: Industrial Systems, Cybersecurity, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), Plant Assets, Predictive Maintenance, Industrial Clouds, ARC Advisory Group.
