Cyber security firm Dragos has acquired device security outfit Phosphorus in a move designed to broaden its coverage across operational technology (OT) environments.
The acquisition expands the scope of the Dragos platform beyond traditional OT assets to what the company describes as the extended operational technology (xOT) environment: industrial systems alongside connected devices embedded throughout power grids, manufacturing facilities, pipelines, data centres, and other operational networks.
The deal reflects a growing industry focus on securing internet-connected devices that often sit outside the visibility of traditional cyber security programs despite playing a critical role in industrial operations.
“The connected devices you find everywhere in critical infrastructure are largely invisible to the cyber security programs that protect operational environments,” Robert M. Lee, chief executive and co-founder of Dragos, said in a statement.
“With Phosphorus, we close that gap and secure xOT, the full environment that matters.”
Phosphorus specialises in discovering, monitoring, and securing connected devices across both operational and enterprise environments. Its platform provides visibility into device inventories and security risks while automating remediation tasks such as password rotations, firmware updates, certificate management, and configuration hardening.
“We built Phosphorus to solve the connected device problem – the unmanaged devices, the default credentials, the firmware no one was updating,” Sonu Shankar, president and chief operating officer of Phosphorus, said.
“Together with Dragos, we can solve it with a depth and scale that wasn’t possible before. That’s what the next generation of OT cyber security looks like.”
Phosphorus customers will continue to be supported as a standalone business during a phased integration process, with Shankar remaining in charge of the business as general manager within Dragos.
Dragos said the acquisition expands its total addressable market opportunity to more than US$50 billion, underscoring growing demand for cyber security solutions capable of protecting increasingly complex industrial and critical infrastructure environments.
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David Hollingworth
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.