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Phosphorus CyberSecurity
Securing the Ecosystem of IoT Devices for Enterprises
Chris Rouland, Co-Founder & CEOSince most IoT devices come with embedded WiFi and Bluetooth and are “always on” by default, they are almost designed to infiltrate a home network. This is why owners of IoT devices are advised to religiously change the default password on their devices and ensure that all appliances are up-to-date with the latest software. Despite taking these precautions, there is a growing sentiment that IoT security is either being ignored, or not keeping up with the pace of growth; a recent survey indicates that total units of global IoT devices will hit 50 billion by 2020.
Phosphorus Cybersecurity, an emerging connected security solution provider, is focused on the remediation of the vulnerabilities produced by IoT devices. While acknowledging that the two most common exploitation techniques used by IoT hackers are vulnerabilities emanating from out-of-date firmware, and the false, embedded usernames and passwords, Chris Rouland—the CEO and co-founder of Phosphorus Cybersecurity—explains why IoT devices aren’t easy to patch. “It’s very common today; a new IoT device would have a 20-year-old firmware on it. When it comes to PCs, enterprises could easily patch old software because they had to deal with just one vendor like Microsoft or CISCO; on the other hand, every IoT device has a different vendor. Before our arrival, enterprises couldn’t patch IoT devices due to their heterogeneous nature,” explains Rouland.
In a heterogeneous IoT environment, there is no central management console to secure multiple devices.
Whereas, in the PC world, companies like BigFix and Tanium specialize in patching. Rouland, who has founded and led several multi-million dollar cybersecurity firms such as Bastille and Endgame, saw the need to focus on securing IoT devices a few years ago. “When I saw this problem in 2017, I decided to make some inventions, to automate the management of IoT devices without running an agent. That’s where our core intellectual property is—we are able to secure a massive ecosystem of IoT devices without running an agent, making it possible for easy and rapid deployment of our technology,” says Rouland.
In addition to the management of device firmware, Phosphorus Cybersecurity has also solved the “default credential” problem with common passwords across IoT devices. Phosphorus integrates with PAM/IAM tools to store and rotate unique passwords, helping organizations stay compliant with required password policy, and solving the other huge vector of attack on IoT.
With manufacturing, industrial (IIoT), healthcare, finserv and retail industries wholeheartedly embracing IoT, Phosphorus Cybersecurity’s primary focus is at the traditional enterprise level. Though still at an infantry stage, the company is already changing life for its clients. Take the example of this manufacturing unit that wanted Phosphorus Cybersecurity to manage and secure approximately 10,000 IoT devices. “By providing Unicorn firmware, we didn’t just prevent cyber threats; in fact, we improved their manufacturing numbers by five percent. Our focus was not even on improving their performance, but by providing up-to-date firmware, we enhanced more than just security,” adds Rouland.
That’s where our core intellectual property is—we are able to secure a massive ecosystem of IoT devices without running an agent, making it possible for easy and rapid deployment of our technology
In addition to the management of device firmware, Phosphorus Cybersecurity has also solved the “default credential” problem with common passwords across IoT devices. Phosphorus integrates with PAM/IAM tools to store and rotate unique passwords, helping organizations stay compliant with required password policy, and solving the other huge vector of attack on IoT.
Over the next 12 months, Phosphorus Cybersecurity has ambitions that extend beyond just successful deployments for clients. Since most of its customers already use other products for helpdesk, firewall, and security management console integration, Phosphorus Cybersecurity plans to integrate its solution with the rest of security products that exist in an enterprise.
Company
Phosphorus CyberSecurity
Management
Chris Rouland, Co-Founder & CEO
Description
A connected security solution provider that remediates the vulnerabilities introduced by IoT devices, by means of automation and a comprehensive solution
Phosphorus CyberSecurity News
Doosan Digital Innovation Announces Strategic Partnership with Phosphorus Cybersecurity
NASHVILLE - Doosan Digital Innovation (Justin Park, CEO of DDI) has partnered with Phosphorus (CEO Chris Rouland), a global xIoT cybersecurity company, to strengthen its operational technology (OT) security ecosystem and provide OT security solutions to Korean enterprises. Phosphorus is a global xIoT cybersecurity company providing unified security management and breach prevention for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) across all major industries.
Phosphorus, a company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., provides an agentless, software-based Cyber-Physical System (CPS) Protection Platform that directly communicates with all xIoT devices in their native protocols. The platform analyzes device vulnerabilities such as outdated firmware, default passwords, expired/self-signed certificates, and insecure configurations to prevent security breaches on xTended Internet of Things devices – including IoT, OT, IIoT, and IoMT devices – and helps strengthen security with proactive and self-corrective xIoT remediation, hardening, and monitoring. Last year, Phosphorus was listed as one of the “50 Most Promising Startups” selected by the American IT media outlet, ‘The Information’.
This partnership is part of the ‘Lighthouse Strategy’ to expand the know-how it has built and operated in global Doosan Group companies to external businesses. Following the partnership for IT security with Cybereason in 2021, the company expanded its scope to OT security with Claroty, a global OT security company, in September of this year. Through its partnership with Phosphorus, Doosan is strengthening its OT cybersecurity partner ecosystem to provide a secure OT and xIoT environment to various customers in Korea through an exclusive partner agreement.
Phosphorus CEO, Chris Rouland, said, “Through our collaboration with Doosan Digital Innovation, we are empowering businesses with greater xIoT visibility, management, and breach prevention capabilities in their critical OT environments. This improved protection is urgently needed at a time when Cyber-Physical System vulnerabilities are dramatically increasing, and threat actors are becoming more sophisticated at targeting and exploiting these devices.”
Robert Oh, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Doosan Digital Innovation, said: "With the partnership with Claroty in September, DDI’s external business area expanded from IT security to OT security, and this xIoT partnership with Phosphorus will serve as an opportunity to strengthen an even more solid global cybersecurity ecosystem. Doosan will continue to lead the sustainable digital transformation and innovation with its experience building and operating know-how of next-generation global cybersecurity.”