Dragos acquires Network Perception to boost OT cybersecurity

Dragos has announced its acquisition of Network Perception, a move that will see the integration of Network Perception's NP-View platform into Dragos's cybersecurity initiatives.

Network Perception's NP-View offers a visualisation platform for operational technology (OT) networks, enabling users to identify questionable configurations, assess risks, and ensure compliance, thereby enhancing the overall security posture of critical industries such as utilities, oil and gas, and manufacturing.

The integration of NP-View into the Dragos Platform will reportedly provide customers with the ability to map their OT network topology more efficiently. It will also assist in determining the placement of Dragos Platform network sensors, mapping vulnerabilities in attack paths, and evaluating configuration and policy drift. These features collectively aim to fortify defences against potential lateral movements by adversaries within OT environments.

Robert M. Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Dragos, commented on the significance of the acquisition, stating, "The acquisition of Network Perception represents a significant milestone toward our shared mission to secure the world's industrial and critical infrastructure. Our companies have grown side-by-side with complementary technologies to protect OT environments. This acquisition brings our teams and technologies together to give organisations an unprecedented level of visibility into their OT environments. Network Perception's compliance capabilities expand Dragos's already strong foundation for helping organisations meet regulations."

Through the combined capabilities of the Dragos Platform and NP-View, organisations will have dual-layer visibility into their OT environments. This includes insights into both real-time connections and potential pathways, providing a cohesive view that enhances proactive defence mechanisms. Security teams will benefit from a clearer understanding of their network configurations, enabling them to identify vulnerabilities along potential attack paths before these can be exploited.

NP-View is designed to access or upload configuration files for switches, routers, and firewalls and provides a network topology map, analyses access paths, and evaluates firewall rules. It simplifies the task of analysing access risk, validating network segmentation, and auditing network designs. The non-invasive approach of NP-View is particularly valued in the energy, utilities, and industrial sectors, where uninterrupted operation is critical.

Robin Berthier, CEO and Co-Founder of Network Perception, reflected on the collaboration saying, "Joining forces with Dragos allows us to combine our strengths and deliver even greater value to the OT community. We are excited to combine our teams, which include some of the brightest minds in industrial cybersecurity, to accelerate innovation and help customers defend against threats and meet regulatory requirements today and tomorrow."

The acquisition also broadens Dragos's capabilities, enabling it to extend NP-View's benefits beyond the North American Electric sector to other industries worldwide, including oil and gas and manufacturing. For U.S. Electric sector customers, NP-View's potential to streamline compliance with CIP-003 and CIP-005 requirements marks an important value addition.

NP-View is known for its trustworthiness among North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) auditors, who have relied on it for compliance audits, reflecting its high standards in network visibility and compliance management. NP-View can continuously check and document compliance with standards such as NERC-CIP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA), significantly reducing the time and resources required for network audits and documentation. Furthermore, it supports multiple compliance frameworks, including IEC 62443, thereby bolstering compliance strength for customers.

The integration of Network Perception's topology and firewall rules analysis capabilities into the Dragos Platform is set to empower customers with a more effective mapping of their OT network topology and the evaluation of policy drift.

This dual-layer visibility will provide a comprehensive security and compliance view of the OT environment, augmenting Dragos's robust defence measures against potential threats.