Microsoft is acquiring cybersecurity company CyberX, giving its Internet of Things (IoT) research and development efforts a significant boost.
Two years ago, Microsoft had announced it was investing $5 billion in IoT over the next four years to support customers as they develop new IoT solutions.
“We know that customers need help improving the security of their existing IoT environment. CyberX’s technology and team will be an incredible addition to Microsoft in our commitment to both IoT security and innovation as you work to digitally transform your business,” Microsoft noted in a June 22 blog post.
Related:
CyberX will complement the existing Azure IoT security capabilities and extends to existing devices, including those used in industrial IoT, operational technology and infrastructure scenarios. Through this acquisition, Microsoft says it will be able to give visibility to customers into what IoT devices are already connected to their networks.
“Gaining this visibility is not only critical for understanding where security risks may exist and then mitigating those risks, but it is also a fundamental step to securely enable smart manufacturing, smart grid and other digitization use cases across production facilities and the supply chain,” says Microsoft.
CyberX’s technology will also allow Microsoft to manage the security on existing IoT devices (often referred to as “brownfield devices”).
Microsoft says CyberX will integrate with its own portfolio of IoT security offerings in threat protection that span users, endpoints, applications, data and more.