SECURE ASSET MANAGEMENT NOW AVAILABLE FOR TOFINO™ SECURITY USERS
Release of “Control System Safe” Discovery and Firewall Rule Creation Module an Industry First

PR: 479
DATE: April 30th, 2008

MTL Instruments, a division of Cooper Crouse-Hinds, and Byres Security Inc. released a new loadable security module (LSM) for their Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution that discovers and identifies what devices are on the network and creates the firewall rules to control the traffic flowing to them, all without risk to the industrial process. This latest LSM, known as the Tofino™ Secure Asset Management module, locates devices and generates rules simply by analyzing the traffic on the network.

This innovation is a first in the industrial security world and possibly also in the IT security market. Asset management tools in the IT world have been available for over a decade, but all are based on the principle of sending probing messages onto the network to discover what is deployed. Unfortunately for industrial users, there have been many documented cases where these discovery messages have caused SCADA and process control systems to crash. In 2005, Sandia National Laboratories released a report describing a number of serious events from use of these tools, including this example:

“a ping sweep was being performed to identify all hosts that were attached to the network, for inventory purposes, and it caused a system controlling the creation of integrated circuits in the fabrication plant to hang. The outcome was the destruction of $50K worth of wafers.”

As a result, many major energy and manufacturing companies have banned the use of IT-style asset tools on industrial networks, leaving control engineers without any techniques to determine what is actually connected to their network at any given moment.

With the release of the Tofino™ Secure Asset Management module, engineers now have a safe and secure means of locating what is on their control system networks. Designed specifically for industrial control operations in critical industries such as oil and gas, manufacturing, utilities and power generation, the Tofino™ never probes the control devices. Instead, it quietly listens for traffic and then uses special characterization techniques to determine the types of control devices on the network. When it discovers a new device, it prompts the system administrator to either accept its deductions and insert the new device into the network inventory diagram, or flag the device as a potential intruder. This way, an up-to-the-minute network map is always available to the control engineer.

Eric Byres, CTO at Byres Security Inc., notes: “Passive scanning techniques have been discussed in academic literature or released in open source projects before, but as far as we are aware, this may be the first successful commercial application of the technology in the world.”

The Secure Asset Management module doesn’t rest on its laurels once it discovers everything on the network. It also guides the user through creating appropriate firewall rules to allow or block messages, based on what it has learned about the network traffic. Technical complexities such as IP addressing and TCP/UDP port numbers are managed behind the scenes, making the normally byzantine art of firewall configuration easy for the controls professional.

The new module is receiving very positive reviews from the security professionals who have seen the pre-release version. Charles Payne of Adventium Labs, a noted firewall expert who has lead numerous US Navy security projects, said "Tofino's novel context-sensitive approach ensures appropriate security policies for each protected device. The new automatic asset discovery and automatic rule generation will ensure that nothing is missed. These capabilities are critical for creating informed security policy in the industrial world."

David Beresford, Business Manager Industrial Networks for MTL Instruments added: “The Secure Asset Management LSM is another example of the flexibility, simplicity and value adding features provided by the Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution, enabling customers to reduce the complexity and management of firewall configuration in a process environment.”

“The Asset Management module is a key step in our Tofino™ Intrinsically Secure strategy”, added Eric Byres. “Our goal is to make security understandable for control engineers, so that they can focus on keeping their process running safely and efficiently.”

The Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution and Secure Asset Management module will be demonstrated from April 29- May 1, 2008 at the ABB Automation World Conference & Exhibition, at the Hilton Americas in Houston, Texas.
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About MTL
MTL Instruments, a division of Cooper Crouse-Hinds, is a world leader in the development and supply of electronic instrumentation and protection equipment for the process control and telecommunications industries. Many of the world's most critical processes are monitored, controlled or protected by MTL equipment and the Group is distinguished by the quality and reliability of its products, its global network of sales-and-support centres and its acknowledged position as a thought-leader in this high technology marketplace. With 36 dedicated sales centres in 13 countries and a further 137 MTL representatives in 64 countries, MTL's expertise in Intrinsic Safety, Industrial Networks, Surge Protection and Operator Displays/HMI is unsurpassed.

About Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries, Ltd. (NYSE: CBE) is a global manufacturer with 2007 revenues of $5.9 billion, approximately 87% of which are from electrical products. Founded in 1833, Cooper's sustained level of success is attributable to a constant focus on innovation, evolving business practices while maintaining the highest ethical standards, and meeting customer needs. The Company has eight operating divisions with leading market share positions and world-class products and brands including: Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG explosion-proof electrical equipment; Halo and Metalux lighting fixtures; and Kyle and McGraw-Edison power systems products. With this broad range of products, Cooper is uniquely positioned for several long-term growth trends including the global infrastructure build-out, the need to improve the reliability and productivity of the electric grid, the demand for higher energy-efficient products and the need for improved electrical safety. In 2007, sixty percent of total sales were to customers in the industrial and utility end-markets and 34% of total sales were to customers outside the United States. Cooper, which has more than 31,500 employees and manufacturing facilities in 23 countries as of 2007, is incorporated in Bermuda with administrative headquarters in Houston, TX. For more information, visit the website at www.cooperindustries.com.

About Byres Security Inc.
Byres Security Inc. develops industrial security technologies for critical infrastructure companies in the oil and gas, power, chemical and manufacturing sectors. Its sister company, Byres Research Inc. is a consulting and services company providing security guidance to government security agencies, major oil companies and power utilities on cyber protection for critical infrastructures and industrial processes.