Rockwell to expand cybersecurity offering with Verve Industrial Protection acquisition

Rockwell Automation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Verve Industrial Protection, a cybersecurity software and services company that focuses specifically on industrial environments. With this acquisition, Rockwell reportedly expects to expand its offerings with an asset inventory system and vulnerability management solution.

“The foundation of OT cybersecurity starts with visibility into assets – you can’t protect what you don’t know you have. This continues to be a critical challenge for manufacturers,” said Matt Fordenwalt, Rockwell’s senior vice-president of Lifecycle Services. “With the Verve acquisition, our customers can quickly assess their assets, prioritize risk, and apply countermeasures to mitigate vulnerabilities – all within a single platform. The addition of Verve to our suite of solutions allows customers to further build resiliency and continuously improve the security, safety and availability of their operations.”

According to a recent Rockwell report, operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) attacks are on the rise, with 60 percent of the incidents studied resulting in operational disruption. The company explains in a press statement that as companies continually add hardware and software alongside legacy equipment in plants, many organizations struggle to manage and protect these assets across an expanded attack surface, increasing the potential for cyberattacks. Meanwhile, the industry is plagued with significant resource and talent shortages needed to implement and manage operational technology (OT) cybersecurity programs. The Verve Security Center platform reportedly enables real-time asset inventory, vulnerability management and risk remediation that will strengthen Rockwell’s current offerings and address these issues.

The Verve Security Center platform was built to provide IT-level security while addressing the unique challenges of the OT environment, explains Rockwell. At the centre of the Verve platform is an asset inventory system that recognizes all industrial assets, regardless of manufacturer. Verve’s approach communicates directly with the assets, gathering critical information without impacting network performance and interrupting production. It then aggregates a wide range of data sources, including Rockwell’s partner technologies, into its platform as a “single pane of glass” that provides actionable insight for customers to quickly address their highest-risk assets.

Verve professional services also provide ongoing remediation, along with a strategic roadmap and business case development, further deepening Rockwell’s cybersecurity consulting capabilities.

“We are excited about the opportunity to join Rockwell, the leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, to further secure manufacturers’ assets around the world,” said John Livingston, CEO of Verve Industrial. “Our platform has helped clients mitigate thousands of vulnerabilities and is an important addition to Rockwell’s OT cybersecurity solutions, providing actionable intelligence to quickly mitigate cybersecurity risks, so that manufacturing facilities can stay up and running.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Rockwell’s fiscal year 2024.