Startup launches industrial IoT security
platform protected by blockchain
By Rich Pell
Information technology startup Xage Security (Palo Alto, CA)
has emerged from stealth mode to launch what it says is the
first and only blockchain-protected security platform for the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Comprised of a team of security, industrial digitization, and
software experts, the company (whose name is pronounced
“Zage”) has been operating behind the scenes for the past 18
months. In that time, it says, it has been perfecting its technology
and securing major customers and partners,
including companies such as ABB, Dell, and Itron.
“Industry 4.0 is the story of our time, and the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the heart of
this new era,” says Duncan Greatwood, CEO of
Xage. “Security is the foundation for IIoT, and
today’s enterprise-IT security models of building
walls and patching holes simply don’t work
for these vast, dynamic networks. We’ve created
the first solution to provide the necessary trust
and integrity for secure distributed interactions at
scale.”
According to the company, its solution provides
the essential trusted foundation for secure
cooperation and data exchange between machines,
people, and applications. Distributing authentication
and private data across the network
of devices, it is offered as creating a tamper-proof
“fabric” for communication, authentication, and
trust that assures security at scale.
The company says its platform supports any-to-any communication,
secures user-based and machine-to-machine access
to existing industrial systems, works at the edge even with
irregular connectivity, and gets “stronger and stronger” with
every device added to the network.
“Any-to-any communication at the edge with many devices
is the worst case scenario for security because you are creating
the maximum attack surface,” Greatwood told TechCrunch.
BIOMETRICS & DATA ENCRYPTION
However, he says, with Xage’s blockchain approach, “the more
participants you have, the more security you have, the more
redundancy you have, the harder it is to attack the system and
break the consensus the blockchain is there to establish.”
Currently Xage is working with customers and partners
across the utility, transportation, manufacturing, and energy industries.
Projects range from distributed command and control
and automated device deployment to authenticated remote
data access.
Examples include power and automation projects with ABB
Wireless that require distributed security, and a partnership with
Dell to deliver its security services on Dell IoT Gateways and the
EdgeX platform for the energy-production industry. In addition,
Xage is working with utility technology solutions company Itron
to enable intelligent power-optimization applications by creating
trust and controlling access between smart meters and power
distribution infrastructure.
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