SaaS model secures OT systems for local government

Recognised as an industry-leading systems integrator, SAGE was directly approached to provide a robust solution for a client seeking to improve the security of their Operational Technology (OT), protecting the SCADA systems that monitor their water assets.

Neglecting to update and secure OT systems increases risks and exposure to vulnerabilities which can lead to cyber attacks, system compromise and data loss.

SAGE was able to offer a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, for monitoring and protecting the client’s OT environment.

SAGE now provides the client with all administration, remote management, monitoring and support for the client’s OT environment, releasing their internal IT department to focus on enterprise services. This has reduced the need for physical infrastructure and hosting costs, with the SAGE National Operations Centre (NOC) just a phone call away to support the customer’s needs.

These works have increased protection for the client’s OT environment from vulnerabilities and malware, significantly enhancing the client’s uptime and system availability. These type of services create an opportunity for the solution to be rolled out to other clients who wish to improve the integrity and security of their OT.

Model - Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-based distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. The SaaS solution was chosen as the best solution due to its enhanced security features and ability to remotely update software.

Cloud Service Provider - SAGE cherry picked Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) services as the hosting solution due to its highly configurable, cost effective, secure, flexible and customisable configurations. Customised to the client’s specifications, this is an example of SAGE’s Virtual Private Cloud solution.

Security & Access Controls – To limit access and egress points, defence-in-depth security principles have been applied including security groups and network access control lists. As such, the system is only accessible from dedicated networks with unique identities and multi-factor authentication employed. To mitigate against vulnerabilities, conflicts, incompatibilities and potential malware infection, a virtualised development environment was employed to test and evaluate patches and updates before being applied to the production environment.

Migration progress – With full system backup completed and roll back plan established, all software and data was validated before being migrated to the new private cloud. Once in place, the latest SCADA software was installed with all applications updated to current versions and tested before going live. Lead by SAGE NOC Engineers, the cutover process took only a week for the talented NOC team, resulting in improved performance and system availability for the customer.