Author: Charles Lim, Industrial Cybersecurity Evangelist at Yokogawa Engineering Asia and
Kelvin Chin, Regional Director for APJ at Xage Security
Xage Security, a global leader in zero trust access and protection, and Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd have announced a strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to provide zero trust access, protection, and data exchange for next-generation autonomous industrial operations. It marks a significant step towards evolving from industrial automation to autonomy while ensuring high cybersecurity standards and human and ecological safety.
Yokogawa is a pioneer in industrial automation and advanced solutions in the areas of measurement, control, and information offering state-of-the-art solutions to customers across a broad range of industries, including energy, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, and food. Known for its precision and reliability, Yokogawa helps enterprises streamline operations and boost efficiency.
The Partnership’s Vision
Together, Xage and Yokogawa are creating solutions that integrate the Xage Fabric for enhanced security, expediting the transformation of industrial plants into secure, fully autonomous operations. This means facilities will operate without human interaction, while possessing human-like learning and adaptive capabilities. In this ideal state, the facility and its integrated supply chain and industry partners function autonomously.
Charles Lim, Industrial Cybersecurity Evangelist of Yokogawa Engineering Asia, states, “This partnership with Xage Security marks a strategic milestone for Yokogawa as we strengthen our commitment to safety and excellence in autonomous operations. Xage’s cutting-edge security solutions align well with our vision of industrial automation and are instrumental in our next-generation initiatives.”
Reaching the vision of a fully digital enterprise requires advanced and precise security capabilities. One of the main challenges in transitioning from manual to autonomous processes is managing and securing data across OT, IT, and IIoT systems. Effective data management demands comprehensive security and access protocols for all assets, both locally and remotely.
Technology Partner Requirements
As security needs for critical infrastructure evolves, Yokogawa continues to strengthen its security solutions with strategic partnerships. These partnerships enable Yokogawa to offer the process industries customized and innovative approaches.
To address the industry security needs and its evolution towards industrial autonomy, Yokogawa has set specific technology partner requirements, including:
- Enhancing cybersecurity and resilience to maintain continuous operations during incidents
- Managing data sharing and network access permissions
- Enforcing audit and access policies for operational assets
- Maintaining fully recoverable backups
- Verifying all network traffic, especially from third parties, by implementing zero trust principles
- Collaborating with academia and government in cyber drills and information exchanges to maintain optimal cybersecurity hygiene
Xage complements Yokogawa’s technology portfolio
Xage employs a preventative cybersecurity approach, enhancing resilience through easily deployed and enforced zero trust policies for all users and assets, from legacy systems to the latest cloud technologies. Built on a distributed ledger, Xage ensures high-integrity, tamper-proof data and meticulously documents all actions in audit-quality logs.
Xage has proven its capability to provide universal zero trust access and protection in highly sensitive environments, from data centers to satellites in orbit. The Yokogawa team has received extensive training and certification on Xage products to maintain high implementation and support standards.
Kelvin Chin, Regional Director for APJ at Xage Security, adds, “Yokogawa is propelling the industry forward with its visionary approach to industrial autonomy, and by placing security at the forefront, they are demonstrating true leadership. We are proud to partner with Yokogawa as they lead the way in this field, and together, we are committed to securing industrial operations with robust zero trust architecture.”
Through this strategic partnership, Xage and Yokogawa are set to reshape the landscape of industrial operations, paving the way for a future where industrial autonomy and cybersecurity are seamlessly integrated.
