Most companies and governments have both physical and digital strategies to protect their networks. However, there exists a chasm between security teams whose job it is to protect physical spaces and network engineers who devise firewalls and other cybersecurity measures to safeguard digital data.

The Missing Link: Why You Need to Combine Physical and Cyber Security

It’s the year 2020, you can ask Siri for the weather, Alexa to turn on the TV, even program the lights on your walkway to turn on for the pizza delivery guy. In this age of automation and smart programming, why are international enterprises – not to mention national governments – leaving precious data in the hands of vulnerable hand-operated tasks and processes?

In truth, the reality is a little more complicated. Most companies and governments have both physical and digital strategies to protect their networks. However, there exists a chasm between security teams whose job it is to protect physical spaces and network engineers who devise firewalls and other cybersecurity measures to safeguard digital data.

The fact that these two systems of protection do not talk to each other leaves data worth billions vulnerable to attack.

Why We Need A Better Way?

Current systems for physical layer protection include the well-worn combination of cameras, gates, and guards with guns. 

CCTV may help you see where the damage occurred, but it does nothing to prevent it. Without real-time knowledge of something that’s happening on-site, guards can do little to stop it. Gates may keep some people out, but not the most determined of intruders. In reality, as long as your infrastructure is physically accessible, your data is vulnerable. It takes just one data-tapping device wielded by an intruder, or even someone on staff, to compromise your company or agency’s network – no matter the sophistication of your cybersecurity.

Most importantly, these points of defense are disconnected: the right arm doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. This only changes when you begin to think about your defense as one holistic system. 

Unified Cyber-Physical Protection

Unified Cyber-Physical Protection (UCP), is a system that bridges the gap between physical and cyber security. By bringing critical physical infrastructure under the realm of cybersecurity, you can actually achieve true protection of your networks.

At CyberSecure IPS, our holistic approach involves interconnected hardware and software solutions that work together to ensure outside and inside plant security. We equip state of the art sensors to monitor, detect, and prevent major outages due to physical disruption or tampering. The data from the sensors feed into our Infrastructure Monitoring System (IMS)™ software allowing for continuous visibility, critical context, and immediate, automated responses. The result is clear, a unified picture of your entire enterprise impossible for cameras to provide.

How Exactly Do We Unify Protection?

At the core of Cyber-Physical Protection is our IMS™ software. IMS™, or the Infrastructure Monitoring System, monitors, reads, and manages data from your plant and displays it in real-time on a single user-friendly platform.

The IMS™ is able to analyze the information sent continuously from strategically placed hardware components about the state of physical infrastructure and react accordingly.

How is our IMS™ an Asset to Both Government Agencies and Enterprises?

IMS™ is trusted by governments and enterprises around the world to provide detailed, accurate data that allows them to make informed decisions and take swift action. 

Originally designed to meet the rigorous requirements for CNSSI 7003, our patented security solution has a 100% passing rate for CCRI Audits. It is the only DoD and RMF-accredited software solution.

This military-grade protection comes in an enterprise-grade package. For enterprises that want to retain their leading-edge, IMS™ allows for innovation and expansion. It’s built to integrate easily with existing software and to scale as your needs grow.

IMS™ includes a package of groundbreaking features that allows decision-makers to distinguish between real threats and false alarms and pinpoint the exact location of an intrusion. The platform can be customized with standard operating procedures to handle case management and reporting automatically based on assigned triggers.  

Most importantly, IMS™ delivers unparalleled protection from expensive network outages and service interruptions, allowing for peace of mind in an age of constant threats and embarrassing data breaches that cost companies millions of dollars, bad press, and distrust.

Ready to Connect The Chain of Cybersecurity?

By arming your plant with software that monitors every inch of your physical structure, you can achieve actual cybersecurity. Otherwise, your data will always be vulnerable to physical threats. 

Learn more about our Infrastructure Monitoring System (IMS™) here, or schedule a demo with our team to see how IMS™ can work for your network.