Tenable Expands OT Security Software to Protect IT Operations and Industrial Control Systems

Summary

March 3, 2023 - Tenable, the exposure management company, has announced new features of Tenable OT Security that provide further comprehensive protection for operational technology (OT), mission-critical infrastructure and industrial control systems–regardless of the size of the installation or configuration of the environment. The new functionality puts the organization of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the center and makes it even easier to secure and control the entire possible attack surface, using the same tools and processes for the entire infrastructure, whether it is OT, IT, IoT, cloud or other platforms.
 
When it comes to connecting OT environments, external attacks can more easily spread through IT to the OT infrastructure and vice versa. Security teams working to protect IT systems are increasingly responsible for protecting OT installations. However, without comprehensive visibility, it is almost impossible to identify and track security risks.
 
Tenable is specifically positioned to help organizations meet their security needs by providing a comprehensive solution to protect mixed environments. The latest update extends the capabilities of Tenable OT Security to detect vulnerabilities through new features of the active OT scanner. There is also even tighter integration with Nessus, Tenable's industry-leading scanning technology for vulnerabilities in the company's IT organization.
 
Tenable OT Security now offers its customers unmatched scanning capabilities based on its technology, trusted by more than 40,000 security teams worldwide.

Key new features include

Increased visibility and protection of assets:

• Advanced sensor-level Active Query capabilities to provide comprehensive visibility across network segments.
• Improved management capabilities for Tenable OT Security sensors.
• Added support for an extensive list of controllers, including Bosch PSI controllers, Bachmann M1 and many more, greatly expanding Tenable's ability to detect investment problems.

Advanced vulnerability and threat detection:

• Advanced scanning capabilities through seamless integration with Nessus, allowing users to fully utilize Nessus intelligent scanning on specific IT devices – safely and without sacrificing productivity.
• Dashboard widgets for Nessus' plugin-based vulnerability detection to make it easier to view information on individual vulnerability data.
• Improved use of Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which can now be continuously updated as needed via the cloud or offline.

Improved dashboards and reports:

• Improved enterprise management dashboards that now provide a single view of multiple interconnected operating sites and enable quick and easy export of reports for sharing with business and operations partners.
• Dozens of user-configurable components that flag common and severe vulnerabilities, common policies and plug-in groups.
• Renewed user interface with the option of special lighting for convenient display of information in environments with lighting problems.

Amir Hirsh, general manager for OT Security at Tenable, explained: "We hear time and time again from CISOs that they are tasked with securing mixed environments that span both OT and IT technologies, but don't have the visibility to fully secure both functions. The new features of Tenable OT Security, on the other hand, offer our customers full visibility, security and control over all their environments and assets in a common interface. Now our customers can leverage the full expertise of Tenable OT's active scanning processes: this approach is tightly integrated with Nessus embedded IT asset scanning to provide a clear view of all assets and processes, including their vulnerabilities, risk scores, attack path analysis and more."
 
The Tenable update also includes features to explain products in Chinese, Japanese, French and German. This can reduce training and support costs for companies operating in regions where English is not the primary language.
 
Tenable's new announcements follow a period of accelerated growth and recognition for Tenable OT Security. This includes the company's inclusion as a Leader in the Forrester Wave for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) safety solutions. Tenable has also secured several very comprehensive contracts with customers that help them gain full visibility across their OT and IT assets.

About Tenable

Tenable is the exposure management company. Around 43,000 companies worldwide rely on Enable to understand and mitigate cyber risk. As the inventor of Nessus, Tenable has continuously expanded its vulnerability expertise to create the world's first platform that can detect and secure any digital asset on any computing platform. Tenable's customers include approximately 60% of the Fortune 500, approximately 40% of the Global 2000 companies, and large government agencies.