S&C Enhances Security of Smart Grid Controls With McAfee Solutions

CHICAGO, May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- S&C Electric Company, a smart grid leader shaping the future of reliable electric delivery, today announces an agreement to bundle application control software from McAfee into S&C's PC-based control platforms. This bundling will allow S&C to enhance the security and protection of its control platforms that use commercial, off-the-shelf operating systems.   

"Cybersecurity is a concern in the deployment of smart grid technology," says Rohit Khera, S&C Cyber Security Architect.  "By integrating advanced security features like those provided by McAfee, S&C is helping to address one of the hurdles to deploying a modern smart grid." 

McAfee Application Control software features industry-leading application control and change control technology to ensure that only trusted applications run on devices after they are deployed at an enterprise or remote location.  The solution prevents unauthorized changes to the control device and issues alerts in the event of unwanted change attempts. This powerful combination of features protects devices from zero-day attacks, reduces in-field breakage, eliminates the patching cycles typical of other security approaches and keeps devices compliant with security standards.

"McAfee's work with S&C represents an important step towards advancing the protection of electric control platforms. This bundle augments traditional signature-based detection technologies with whitelisting, memory protection, and change control functions," said Jennifer Byrne, senior director of vertical markets at McAfee.  

About S&C Electric Company
S&C, with global headquarters in Chicago, USA, is applying its heritage of innovation to address challenges facing the world's power grids and is thus shaping the future of reliable electricity delivery. The mission of employee-owned S&C is to continually develop new solutions for electricity delivery, fostering the improved efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid. Additional information about S&C is available at www.sandc.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Erin Buelt
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SOURCE S&C Electric Company