Brace 168 And Schneider Electric Partner To Help OT Customers Reduce Cyber Risk

Brace168 has partnered with Schneider Electric to enable OT customers to ensure they reduce their overall cyber risk exposure and meet compliance requirements.

Sydney, Australia – 21 April 2023: Brace168 has partnered with Schneider Electric to enable OT customers to ensure they reduce their overall cyber risk exposure and meet compliance requirements. The offerings are available now to Australian companies who are required to establish, maintain, and comply with a risk management program, including requirements arising under the expanded Security Legislation Amendments (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022 (commonly referred to as the SOCI Act). Engagements with early customers such as Sunterra for the Wallor Solar Farm project have already delivered significant reductions in risk and enabled compliance deadlines to be met.

Bryan Saba, Group CEO of the Cipherpoint group, which includes Brace168, said the OT industry is in a state of transition and focusing on new attack challenges greater than ever seen before.

"In Australia, the reliance on traditional OT security practices is becoming more precarious due to the scarcity of specialised skills. This exacerbates the risk profile for OT infrastructure, raising concerns among operational teams and boards,” Saba said.

“Cyber security risk in IT and OT environments in Australia are significant. We have seen the outcomes of these risks in US and European attacks. The global experience of Schneider Electric combined with Brace168 local capabilities and knowledge is a great fit for Australian companies facing these challenges.”

In a world of constantly changing regulatory environments and compliance frameworks, companies need to continually focus on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), align IT/OT with business goals while managing risks and meeting all industry and government regulations. It is not just a tick the box exercise, it includes tools and processes to unify an organisation's governance and risk management with its technological innovation and needs to be tested on a regular basis.

As industrial machinery and processes become connected to corporate IT networks and the Internet, it opens them up to cyber threats that could severely disrupt critical operations and affect public safety.

“We believe the cybersecurity journey is better with a trusted partner. Working for the greater good of the digital economy is essential,” Nikki Saunders, Cyber Security Ecosystem Program Manager, Schneider Electric said.

“We partner with cybersecurity leaders so we can help our customers to maximise the investment they've already made in their existing, mature IT environment and to provide a deep understanding of the requirements across the IT/OT environment. This will help them to gain a competitive advantage, increase their brand health, and be regulatory compliant,” she said.

Cyber Security Solutions to be offered by Schneider under the partnership with Brace168 include:

· Managed Detection and Response

· CISO as a Service

· ISO Gap Assessments/GRC compliance

· Third Party (Supply Chain) Risk Assessment

· Table-Top – Operational and Board IR reviews

· Incident Response

· GRC Policy and Process development and review

· Gap Assessment against OT/ISMS Frameworks

o AESCSF

o ISA/IEC 62443

o NIST SP 800-82

o ACSC Essential 8

o ISO31000 and ISO 27001

Customer Quotes:

Schneider and Brace168 recently supported Sunterra who is the EPC contractor in the Wollar Farm project. Comments below are from Grace Lio, Sunterra Project Management lead.

How did the service help you meet critical timelines?

The service played a vital role in enabling us to meet critical project deadlines. Schneider Electric and Brace168 have been delivering exceptional support and resources for the development of cyber security at Wollar Solar Farm. The delivery plan was well-organised to align with the project's progress. Throughout the consultation process, the professionals from Schneider Electric and Brace168 demonstrated a deep understanding of the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework, and their insights proved invaluable in helping us reach milestone targets.

How did the service help you reach your goals?

Leveraging their significant expertise in the field of cyber security, Schneider Electric and Brace168 professionals assisted us in thoroughly analysing and comprehending our business requirements, and in formulating a roadmap for achieving our goals in a systematic manner. Throughout the process, our communication with them was highly active and effective, instilling in us a sense of confidence in managing the entire process and minimising potential risks.

How good was the technical level of the service?

We experienced a highly professional, attentive, responsible, and committed attitude along with a superior level of service.

How good was Schneider Electric and Brace168 as a service partner?

Schneider Electric and Brace168 have provided outstanding service to Wollar Solar Farm, and we anticipate collaborating with them on project development in the future. We would like to express our special appreciation to Kaustub Chakravarty (Schneider – KAM) and Opeyemi Ajibola (CISO – Brace 168) for their valuable contributions. We worked together seamlessly to fulfill business requirements. Above all, with the assistance from Schneider and Brace168, we made significant progress around solar farm cyber security development.

About Cipherpoint

Cipherpoint is focused on bringing extraordinary experiences and peace of mind to people by empowering them to safely achieve their vision through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Brace168, ExciteIT and VITCS. Across the group it utilises its best of breed security operations centre and a highly trained operations and advisory team to provide innovative IT and cyber security solutions to a broad range of enterprise sectors and governments.

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