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OPSWAT Secures Critical Infrastructure for a…
Energy | Customer Stories
OPSWAT Secures Critical Infrastructure for a Major Energy Provider in Vietnam
OPSWAT protects critical file transfers between IT and OT environments for one of Vietnam’s largest energy distributors.
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About Company: This major electricity distributer operates 15 direct power companies, four member companies, two management boards, and two centers across Vietnam. Its main responsibility is to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s financial hub and its most populous city.
What's the story? Faced with rising cyberattacks, this Vietnamese energy provider recognized that firewalls alone could not protect their network. They needed a solution that would securely transfer files between their IT and OT environments while ensuring files were malware-free. Removable media, like USBs and laptops, posed additional risks.
After a thorough evaluation, they chose OPSWAT to standardize their file sanitization process and ensure safe, malware-free transfers across their IT/OT systems. This is their story.
Due to the nature of the business, the name of the organization featured in this story has been kept anonymous in order to protect the integrity of their work.
Vietnam's energy sector is facing an escalation in cyberthreats, with power plants increasingly targeted by ransomware attacks. In 2023 alone, over 19,000 servers across the country were hit by ransomware, marking a 35% surge from the previous year, according to a report from tech group Bkav in The Investor VAFIE Magazine.
The situation intensified in April 2024 when a ransomware attack on Vietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) disrupted operations for two days. With over 13,750 cyberattacks recorded since 2023, Vietnam’s electricity providers are feeling the pressure to strengthen their cyber defenses.
One of Vietnam's major energy providers in Ho Chi Minh City took decisive action to safeguard its network against growing threats. Recognizing that traditional firewalls were insufficient to secure file transfers between IT and OT environments, they sought a solution to ensure all files entering their OT systems were malware-free.
Additionally, they needed to address the risks posed by removable media, such as USB drives and laptops, which could introduce harmful malware.
Securing Data Transfers and Preventing Malware
After evaluating several solutions, this critical infrastructure organization selected OPSWAT’s MetaDefender platform for its ability to secure data transfers while sanitizing files and preventing malware infiltration.
According to Mr. Thai Duc Phuong, Cyber Security Solution Specialist for the company, OPSWAT solutions provided a standardized approach to ensure all files were thoroughly scanned and sanitized before entering the OT environment.
OPSWAT’s solutions allowed us to standardize the file-cleaning process when transferring files from external sources into our IT and OT environments.
Thai Duc Phuong
Cyber Security Solution Specialist
To solve their challenges, this energy provider integrated the following OPSWAT solutions:
MetaDefender Core: Integrates advanced malware prevention and detection capabilities across both IT and OT environments, ensuring files are sanitized before being used. It provides protection against zero-day attacks and Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).
MetaDefender Kiosk: Protects critical systems by scanning removable media like USBs and laptops, preventing malicious content from entering the network. With the capacity to scan thousands of files per minute, the Kiosk allows only threat-free data to pass into the OT zone.
MetaDefender Managed File Transfer (MFT): Ensures that all file transfers are secure and automates the process of transferring files from IT to OT environments. Each file is rescanned and verified for unknown threats.
Seamless Integration Across IT and OT Networks
The electricity distributor implemented OPSWAT solutions to secure both their IT and OT environments.
For the IT network, they deployed a MetaDefender Kiosk, MetaDefender Core, and MetaDefender Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions to scan, sanitize, and securely store incoming data. Once processed, the sanitized data was stored via MetaDefender MFT for secure handling.
In the OT network, a second MetaDefender Kiosk was installed to scan files ensuring they were malware-free before being transferred for file sharing within the OT environment.
The integration process was smooth, and any challenges were swiftly resolved through close collaboration between the company, the implementation team, and OPSWAT.
The solution platform provides comprehensive protection against the growing threat of cyberattacks today.
Thai Duc Phuong
Cyber Security Solution Specialist
Comprehensive Protection Across Files and Networks
This provider was able to quickly reap the benefits of integrating OPSWAT solutions into their existing workflow.
MetaDefender Core
Quickly scan all files with up to 30 anti-malware engines and detect over 99% of known malware with Multiscanning technology.
Recursively sanitize over 175 file types with market leading Deep CDR technology that removes 100% of potential threats.
Detect zero-day malware and more Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) with adaptive threat analysis technology.
MetaDefender Managed File Transfer
Ensure secure, managed file transfers to critical networks with built-in advanced security features. Security is enhanced by creating a quarantine area, to keep original files separate from sanitized files, and restrict access to the originals.
Implement reliable, automated workflows and encryption mechanisms to facilitate the seamless transfer of increasingly large files, both internally and externally.
Strengthen organizational defenses against zero-day attacks by scheduling regular rescans for transferred files.
MetaDefender Kiosk
Scan and detect threats before reaching your production network. Removable media can be scanned to prevent threats away from production equipment.
Increase detection rates with Multiscanning that uses up to 30 anti-malware engines. As each anti-malware engine uses different algorithms, the value of combining multiple engines significantly increases malicious file detection.
Disarm threats with Deep CDR (content disarm and reconstruction) to ensure safe and usable files.
Prevent sensitive and regulated data from leaving or entering the organization’s systems by content-checking files and emails before they are transferred using Proactive DLP (data loss prevention).
OPSWAT meets the need for managing file transfers, ensuring they are stored and cleaned with outstanding technologies like Multiscanning and Deep CDR across various transmission channels like peripheral devices, file uploads, emails, ICAP, or REST APIs before being used in critical IT/OT environments.
Thai Duc Phuong
Cyber Security Solution Specialist
Enhanced Security Across IT-OT Networks for Peace of Mind
“The need to clean and transmit data between IT/OT environments in a flexible, closed-loop, secure, and safe manner [was critical],” Mr. Phuong explained. “OPSWAT is one of the highly regarded solutions to address these challenges. This has been proven through practical testing and implementation.”
By implementing OPSWAT’s advanced security solutions, this critical infrastructure enterprise was able to secure their data-transfer processes between IT and OT environments while protecting against the ever-growing threat of cyberattacks.
Mr. Phuong praised the flexibility and reliability of the solutions. “OPSWAT meets the need for managing file transfers,” he began, “ensuring they are stored and cleaned with cutting-edge technologies like Multiscanning and Deep CDR across various transmission channels like peripheral devices, file uploads, emails, ICAP, or REST APIs, before being used in critical IT/OT environments. This solution provides comprehensive protection against the growing threat of cyberattacks today.”
By working in collaboration, OPSWAT was able to provide solutions that easily integrated with this energy distributor’s existing infrastructure while securing their network against future cyberattacks. Discover how OPSWAT’s technology can help secure your organization today.
