INDUSTRIAL Defender announced a new version of its operational technology cybersecurity platform on 20 October 2026, adding internal network security monitoring (INSM) and Risk Signal. The company says the release is designed to help operators meet the FERC-approved NERC CIP-015-1 standard, which requires entities with high- and medium-impact Bulk Electric System Cyber Systems to monitor internal network traffic, identify and assess anomalies, and retain and protect the resulting data.
The INSM feature learns each device’s usual communications and flags changes including new connections, unexpected protocols, unusual traffic volumes and unknown devices communicating. It links each finding to asset information held by the platform, such as configuration changes, vulnerabilities and risk scores. Review decisions are recorded with the reviewer, timestamp and rationale to provide evidence mapped to CIP-015 requirements.
Industrial Defender says the monitoring can also be used in other industrial control environments, including oil and gas, chemical processing and manufacturing.
Risk Signal uses customers’ existing risk models to rank patches and upgrades by the risk reduction they are expected to provide relative to operational effort. It packages the recommendations into prioritised playbooks for existing work-management systems, then verifies whether patches have been applied and updates the asset’s risk score. The announcement describes product capabilities; it does not report a security incident or confirmed exploitation.