Spain-based telecoms operator Telefónica and Germany-based industrial provider Siemens have announced a deal to offer combined IT / OT cybersecurity for the Industry 4.0 sector in Spain, marrying their respective strengths in IT and OT security.
The Spanish division of Siemens is offering its digital industry solutions into the bargain, covering its portfolios of traditional industrial networking components, newer OT-based digital technologies, plus sundry consulting and auditing services.
Telefónica is drawing on its portfolio of security services in the IT field, mostly authored by its ElevenPaths business. The Spanish firm has more recently spun a new IoT Cybersecurity Unit out of ElevenPaths, as well, as it seeks to straddle the IT/OT divide in the new enterprise IoT space.
Telefónica revealed a five-point reinvention plan in late 2019 that seeks to leverage its networking heritage as a springboard for the digital transformation of industry and society. The move puts a new €2 billion digital-change unit, called Telefónica Tech, at heart of its growth strategy.
The National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) managed more than 100,000 incidents related to cyber attacks during in 2019, and the attack surface for cyber-criminals is growing as new IoT devices come online. Their partnership will seek to reinforce security for public and private organisations as they increasingly connect their assets, as part of a mission to bring intelligence and automation to operations.
Emilio Gayo, president of Telefónica Spain, commented: “It will be a starting point to extend cybersecurity services and continue to demonstrate that we fulfil our commitments to digitise companies and society as a whole. The economic and social advance will come now, more than ever, from companies such as Telefónica and Siemens that know how to develop digitisation solutions in any field.”
Miguel Ángel López, chief executive at Siemens in Spain, said the deal will “ensure the success of the digital transformation of the Spanish economy in the IoT era. Digitisation and cybersecurity are two sides of the same coin.”
Last week, the UK divisions of Cisco and Telefónica announced a new “cybersecurity blueprint” to protect the UK from cyber-attacks on connected and autonomous vehicles and transport systems. The pair joined with the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick and Millbrook Proving Ground during the 12-week-long Baselining, Automation and Response for CAV Testbed (BeARCAT) project.
Meanwhile, Telefónica’s new Telefónica Tech division has unveiled an initiative for start-ups and SMEs in Germany, Spain, and the UK to make free use of its IoT, blockchain, and analytics platforms to help with their business development. The programme, offering free licences and free connectivity, runs for six months.
Participants will be able to stage pilot test of their innovations with Telefónica, as well as certain of its tech partners.
Irene Gómez, director of open innovation at Telefónica, said: “Collaboration is more important than ever, which is why at Connected Open Innovation we want to help start-ups scale by giving them access to our technology platforms through the use of APIs, which are free, agile and simple.”
