Kaspersky and Alias Robotics have partnered to boost cyber-protection for robots that are used in operational technology (OT) infrastructure. As recently confirmed in a dedicated case study, Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity and Alias Robotics’ Robot Immune System (RIS) solutions can work together and successfully prevent attacks on OT networks with robots, harden control stations and protect robot endpoints from being compromised.

Robotics is one of the key components of Industry 4.0. The implementation of industrial robots is increasing, with the market expected to grow exponentially and exceed $24 billion by 2025. Used in many industrial operations, robots represent another type of endpoint in OT infrastructure. However, protecting them requires a special approach, since robots represent a separate, complex and connected system with specific protocols and tools.

As proven throughout the case study, Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity and Robot Immune System, a dedicated robot endpoint protection platform by Alias Robotics, together protect all levels of the OT environment where robots are used – from robot controllers to processes and operations. This was tested with three attack vectors, including process network insider, controller insider and compromising the robot operating system (ROS) network.

The research showed that Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity for Networks enables network asset management and successfully detects network attacks and anomalies in OT environments. Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity for Nodes adds complex protection for industrial control stations while Robot Immune System provides dedicated protection for robot controllers.

“Robots have their own networks, technologies, safety requirements and business priorities, all of which must be uniquely addressed. These systems demand specialised cybersecurity measures that need to happen at the endpoint to guarantee no-human-harm. Our Robot Immune System (RIS) supports more than 40 different robots today and we are partnering with best in class industrial networking monitoring solutions to secure robots in OT environments. By integrating RIS into Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity, our clients can now protect their robots with RIS and manage the security of their ICS infrastructure seamlessly via Kaspersky’s solution,” says Víctor Mayoral Vilches, CTO and Founder at Alias Robotics.

“As the OT infrastructure becomes more complex, it is important to add security for each of its parts and layers. Protection measures and tools should also work smoothly with each other to cover the entire environment without any gaps. Considering the growing implementation of industrial robots, this partnership with Alias Robotics allows our customers with robots in their infrastructure to meet the demand for reliable protection,” comments Anton Shipulin, Solution Business Lead, Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity, Kaspersky.

To learn more about the case study, ‘Securing robot endpoints in Operational Technology environments’, please visit the Alias Robotics website. More information about Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity and how it protects OT environments can be found here.