PFP Cybersecurity Recognized as a "Vendor to Watch" by Enterprise Management Associates
Leading Analyst Firm Sees Major Potential for Innovative Security Startup
Feb 02, 2015, 09:00 ET
VIENNA, Va., Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PFP Cybersecurity, a unique provider of anomaly-based cyber security threat detection technology, today announced it has been named a "Vendor to Watch" by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), a leading industry analyst firm. EMA Vendors to Watch are companies that offer unique customer value by providing unique solutions in their markets or solving problems that have previously gone unaddressed.
Launching to market this week, PFP Cybersecurity solves the detection gap problem with a physics-based approach for detecting sophisticated threats targeted at the supply chain, industrial control systems and any chip-based computing system. PFP's unique anomaly detection technology uses a known baseline reading of the power usage of any microchip, then using continuous monitoring or spot checking, can detect a change in power consumption behaviors, which indicate a change in the chip behavior and thus a potential security breach. Although it has many use cases which include mobile phones and network routers, it focuses on protecting SCADA systems and critical infrastructure such as power grid, nuclear power plants and water treatment facilities. It can also be used to detect supply chain corruption with counterfeit or substandard chips and spying or infiltration including chips modified with backdoors or kill switches.
"PFP offers an unrealized ability to deploy high sensitivity malware detection in current infrastructures without the need to change the systems, and with savings in recertification costs of legacy systems," noted David Monahan, research director at EMA, in his report. "The air-gapped implementation means it cannot be detected by hackers; and the fact that it is a 'physics-based' solution makes it impossible to evade."
With PFP's unique ability to detect both active and dormant attacks at the hardware and firmware levels, enterprises and government agencies can now find zero-day threats immediately by monitoring and detecting power consumption anomalies. For example, as soon as power usage changes due to the introduction of malware onto a system, PFP's solution will detect this and alert the system that there is a breach.
"We are honored to be named an EMA Vendor to Watch as we officially launch our company and products to market this week," said Steven Chen, Founder and Executive Chairman of PFP Cybersecurity. "The cyber threat landscape has evolved so much in the past few years and as a result, we must also evolve the technologies used to detect these advanced threats. At PFP, we believe that our disruptive approach of monitoring changes in power consumption to detect threats targeted at the supply chain and industrial control systems is what the industry needs right now."
Added Monahan in his report, "Longer-term as PFP is embedded on chips, or is otherwise isolated from the rest of the system by acceptable means, its uses in consumer technology including Wi-Fi routers, cell phones, and IoT and wearables could have an even greater impact on the fight against malware."
The first generation of PFP's technology was developed at Virginia Tech in 2006 by the company's President Dr. Jeff Reed and CTO Dr. Carlos Aguayo Gonzalez. In 2010, they joined serial entrepreneur Steven Chen to form PFP Cybersecurity. Today, PFP has raised $1M from Blu Venture Investors and the CIT (Center of Innovation Technology) GAP Funds to accelerate its sales and marketing and build a talented team by hiring top researchers and government hackers who know how to hack and defend networks. The company has filed two patents so far, with more to come, and their government customers including DARPA, the US Army, US Air Force, NSF and DHS.
For access to the full EMA "Vendor to Watch" report on PFP Cybersecurity, please contact Thurston Brooks, VP of Product Marketing at PFP Cybersecurity, at [email protected].
About EMA
Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst and consulting firm that specializes in going "beyond the surface" to provide deep insight across the full spectrum of IT and data management technologies. EMA delivers research, analysis, and consulting services to two key client groups: Enterprise IT Professionals and IT and Data Management Vendors.
About PFP Cybersecurity
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., PFP Cybersecurity (aka Power Fingerprinting, Inc.) provides a unique, anomaly-based cyber security threat detection technology that can instantly identify software and hardware intrusion including active and dormant attacks. With its innovative technology, PFP shortens the compromise detection gap to milliseconds by monitoring changes in electromagnetic frequencies and power supplies. This physics-based technology can be applied to detect advanced malware and sophisticated threats in critical cyber systems. It can also detect hardware Trojans and counterfeits in the supply chain. For more information, please visit: www.pfpcyber.com
SOURCE PFP Cybersecurity