LinkGuard™ CyberCloak™ Capabilities Successfully Defend Against External Threats in DOE/NREL Testing for the Energy Sector

 CHANTILLY, Va., Sept. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) selected Blue Ridge Networks' LinkGuard cybersecurity solution to be tested in the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator (CECA) Cohort 1. Blue Ridge Networks gained professional evaluation experience in a realistic environment against some of the most urgent cybersecurity challenges facing the modern energy grid.

Blue Ridge Networks was one of only three companies selected from numerous applicants for this rigorous months-long evaluation. "The testing and results are particularly timely, given the recent alert issued by the U.S. National Security Agency on recent attacks to critical infrastructures (attributed to a nation-state actor), and reported by resources such as Reuters, MSN, and others," said John Higginbotham, CEO of Blue Ridge Networks, Inc.

Blue Ridge Networks would like to thank DOE and NREL for the opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of our LinkGuard solution and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Duke Energy, and Xcel Energy for sponsoring the technical assessment. "The testing validates our LinkGuard CyberCloak capabilities can prevent an outside attack and confirms the benefits that our federal and commercial customers have been realizing for several years," said Mark Palomba, Chief Commercial Officer.

The purpose of this testing was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of LinkGuard against a chosen set of threats to protect operational technology (OT) network infrastructure for the energy sector, particularly with respect to its unique authentication methodologies. LinkGuard effectiveness was evaluated utilizing an NREL test network that includes a Primary SCADA Control Center network, an Enterprise network, several Substation networks, a Remote Management network, and an External Attacker network. The test results assessed LinkGuard's CyberCloak capabilities and demonstrated it stopping an external attacker's initial access attempt of using remote services during an emulated kill chain.

CECA is sponsored by DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response in collaboration with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and utility partners. The program is managed by NREL.

LinkGuard CyberCloak capabilities successfully defend against outside agent attacks and can be an essential component of a cybersecurity network segmentation strategy. Blue Ridge Networks has other products and solutions that can be added to enhance LinkGuard utilization as part of an overall cyber security strategy. As analog technology is replaced by digital, and OT environments become more visible, it is critical to deploy solutions that limit visibility. LinkGuard CyberCloak capabilities do just that.

See www.blueridgenetworks.com or call Blue Ridge Networks at 1-800-722-1168 for more information on LinkGuard Zero Trust Breach Prevention protection for your OT network.

Blue Ridge Networks, Inc. is a proven and trusted provider of cybersecurity breach prevention solutions. Our mission is to provide proactive protection of critical infrastructure that eliminates the adverse impacts associated with reactive responses to compromises. Our unique CyberCloak capabilities secure critical assets and operations in zero-trust IT/OT network architectures. Regulated, Commercial, and Industrial organizations have trusted Blue Ridge Networks for over 20 years to prevent exploits and receive continuous returns on their investments while achieving uninterrupted operational efficiency.

©2023 Blue Ridge Networks, Inc.

CONTACT: Susan Powell, marketing@blueridgenetworks.com

SOURCE Blue Ridge Networks