PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xage, the first and only zero trust real-world cybersecurity company, today announced a new contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to secure access to crucial energy delivery systems during contingency events, such as severe weather or other natural disasters. The DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Responses awarded Xage with a contract to develop a new application that will provide access to remote terminal units (RTU) and switching device infrastructure for contingent workers, while protecting critical services from cyberattacks.
This past year, the U.S. saw a record number of major disasters, and climate projections show extraordinary weather events only becoming more frequent. At the center of these climate disasters are critical infrastructure. During adverse weather, energy transmission and distribution systems are often impaired and damaged, and communication is disrupted. To improve restoration operations, utilities must dispatch workers to restore service and bring systems back online, typically relying on assistance from neighboring utilities’ auxiliary field crews.
Technicians accessing power equipment in the midst of extreme weather is key to restoring power during outages. A key security challenge during these operations is the management of credentials across an expanded technician base, who require access to networked power equipment. In many cases, the networked power and technician equipment may have spotty or lost communications. Providing local access while maintaining security and auditability for utility or auxiliary technicians, applications and machines during these scenarios is extremely difficult. Further, utilities must ensure reliable access during contingency events without sacrificing the security of normal operations.
“As the energy industry works to ensure overall infrastructure resilience, Xage is eager to get to work with the DOE and our partners to build a cutting-edge security solution that will provide efficient access for the emergency crews who are needed to keep critical services online,” said Duncan Greatwood, CEO of Xage. “Backed by the Xage Fabric, utilities can update access authorizations almost instantaneously and provide secure, easy-to-use single-sign-on and multi-factor authentication for auxiliary field crews using their own laptops and mobile devices, saving time where it is needed most.”
The DOE selected Xage for its zero trust principles and proven track record of securing operational technology. The Xage Fabric is unique in its ability to offer centralized policy management with decentralized policy enforcement to impose granular control over all digital interactions. In the project’s initial phase, Xage is partnering with a global power equipment provider to apply and demonstrate the Xage Fabric to in-field authorization updates and local access control. This application will provide secure credential storage and eliminate the burden of credential management and shared credentials for local access, even when distribution power equipment loses network connectivity.
Dozens of companies with critical operations already trust Xage to secure their systems, using the Xage Fabric to defend against unauthorized access. The current engagement follows the 2019 U.S. Department of Energy contract awarded to Xage to help protect the nation's power grid. To learn more about the Xage Fabric and its role in protecting and modernizing utilities, energy and other operational, IT and cloud environments, visit https://xage.com/solutions/.
About Xage
Xage is the first and only zero trust real-world security company. The Xage Fabric accelerates and simplifies the way enterprises secure, manage and transform digital operations across OT, IT and cloud. Xage solutions include Identity & Access Management (IAM), remote access and dynamic data security, all powered by the Xage Fabric.
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