Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the energy sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising cybersecurity solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Cybersecurity Solutions For Energy Utilities
Using our StartUs Insights Platform, covering 1.116.000+ startups & emerging companies, we looked at innovation in the field of energy. For this research, we identified 55 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and technology among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & emerging companies developing cybersecurity solutions for energy utilities. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 55 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Qubitekk – Quantum Cryptography
With an increase in computational power and hackers coming up with more sophisticated cyber attacks, the energy industry needs better technologies for protecting power grids. One such technology is quantum cryptography, which utilizes entangled photons that are protected by the laws of quantum physics against undetected tampering.
The US-based startup Qubitekk develops quantum cryptography solutions for the machine-to-machine (M2M) communications market, including solutions for power grid security. Additionally, the company is collaborating with two major utility players in California to test its cryptography for quantum-safe authentication and encryption of automated devices in the field.
Nozomi Networks – Industrial Network Vulnerability Assessment
Industrial networks of utilities contain hundreds or even thousands of devices from various vendors. Not all of these devices have a high level of security which is important for critical infrastructure. Cybersecurity platforms for industrial network vulnerability assessment enable energy utilities to tackle the above-mentioned challenge by identifying vulnerability issues of Operational Technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Nozomi Networks is a US-based startup that develops a solution to protect power generation, transmission & distribution networks while improving operational visibility and reliability. This solution automatically identifies utility system vulnerabilities and displays all vulnerabilities by vendor and severity level. As a result, this identification enables cybersecurity teams to prioritize high-risk exposure points.
Rhebo – Industrial Network Monitoring
With an increase in digitizing power generation, transmission & distribution systems, the complexity of network control systems also increases. As a result, it becomes harder for energy utilities to ensure cybersecurity and protection from large-scale malware attacks, unknown vulnerabilities, hacker attacks, and other potential security risks. Industrial cybersecurity platforms that enable network condition monitoring and anomaly detection help utilities in tackling these challenges.
German company Rhebo provides industrial security solutions for the energy industry. The company’s solution, Rhebo Industrial Protector, monitors industrial networks, detects, reports, and prioritizes all anomalies in real-time. Moreover, the tool reports any form of communication in energy systems such as known and unknown malicious codes, professional cyberattacks, internal sabotages, and manipulations as well as technical network errors.
CyberDesk – Critical Infrastructure Protection
Electric utilities around the world are digitizing their assets, networks, and operations to improve efficiency and provide better services to their customers. While digitizing provides numerous benefits for energy systems, it also increases the risk of exposure to cyberattacks and cybersecurity incidents. Consequently, startups and emerging companies are developing innovative solutions to protect the critical infrastructure of energy utilities from cyber risks.
CyberDesk is a Ukrainian startup consolidating the research of cybersecurity across various industries. Through multiple strategies for detection, prevention, and mitigation, the startup uses cross-industry knowledge to develop multilayer security solutions and services. CyberDesk’s research and development (R&D) facilities provide cybersecurity solutions that minimize or prevent cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, including for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and IoT systems – both of which find applications in the energy sector.
Claroty – Operational Technology Cybersecurity
Despite business benefits, the convergence of IT and OT in the energy industry also creates security challenges. Competing priorities and incompatible technologies within IT and OT environments further increase cyber risks. As a result, innovative cybersecurity solutions are required to overcome these challenges.
Claroty is a US-based startup that offers a platform to bridge the industrial cybersecurity gaps between IT and OT environments for energy utilities. Furthermore, this solution provides comprehensive OT asset and network visibility, segmentation, vulnerability management, threat detection, risk assessment. This enables secure remote access capabilities that energy utilities require to operate safely.
What About The Other 50 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence so you can achieve your goals faster. The 5 cybersecurity solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 55 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
