Dragos buys NetRise & runZero to boost xOT security

Dragos has acquired NetRise and runZero, broadening its cybersecurity offering for extended operational technology environments.

The acquisitions add runZero's asset visibility and exposure management tools, along with NetRise's software supply chain and firmware security capabilities, to Dragos's existing operational technology security platform.

The combined platform is intended to help critical infrastructure operators monitor connected devices, networks, cloud systems, software and traditional operational technology from a single environment. Dragos cited sectors including electricity, oil and gas, manufacturing, data centres, water, transportation, mining and ports.

The move follows the completion of Accenture's majority investment in Dragos. At the same time, Chief Executive Officer Robert M. Lee was named chairman of the board, while the business will continue to operate independently.

NetRise Chief Executive Officer Thomas Pace, runZero Chief Executive Officer HD Moore, and NetRise Chief Technology Officer and Chief Scientist Michael Scott are joining Dragos with their teams. They will oversee integration of the two businesses into the Dragos platform while continuing to support existing customers.

Dragos has been extending its scope beyond traditional operational technology security. Earlier this year, it bought Phosphorus, a company focused on connected devices used across operational networks and critical infrastructure.

With the latest acquisitions, runZero brings technology designed to consolidate existing IT, OT and cloud asset data from systems already used by customers. NetRise adds analysis of the firmware and software running on devices, including checks for issues such as outdated components and hardcoded credentials.

NetRise's technology will also support customer documentation requirements tied to regulations and directives including NERC CIP, NIS2 and TSA rules.

Board changes

Dragos also announced board changes following Accenture's investment. New directors joining from Accenture are Harpreet Sidhu, global cybersecurity lead; Luis Luque, global OT cybersecurity lead; and John Coltsmann from corporate development.

Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator and co-founder and former chief technology officer of CrowdStrike, is also returning to the board.

The deals reflect growing concern among industrial operators about the security of systems that connect physical infrastructure with corporate networks, cloud platforms and internet-linked devices. That broader environment is increasingly described in the sector as xOT, or extended operational technology.

In remarks issued with the announcement, Lee linked the acquisitions to the way industrial operators now manage cyber-physical systems.

"The world's largest companies have invested heavily in enterprise IT security, yet it's their cyber-physical systems that generate revenue and carry national and local security impact," said Robert M. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of Dragos.

"Organisations across electric, oil and gas, manufacturing, data centres, and other critical infrastructure sectors need to defend every system that can influence a physical process. That extended environment is xOT. NetRise, runZero, and Dragos defend it together," Lee said.

Concern across the industry has sharpened as operational environments become more connected and less isolated than in the past. Companies responsible for energy, water, transport and industrial production face increasing pressure to identify assets, understand software dependencies and reduce exposure across mixed IT and OT estates.

Alperovitch said the threat picture for operators had changed materially in recent years.

"Intrusions into OT networks have become a daily reality for critical infrastructure operators given the geopolitical conflicts we've been witnessing around the world in recent years," said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator and co-founder and former chief technology officer of CrowdStrike.

"Cybersecurity for these environments is more than a matter of uptime. It's about whether the lights stay on and the water stays safe when an adversary attacks. Dragos, NetRise, and runZero now give defenders what they've been missing: the right xOT tools for that fight," Alperovitch said.

Dragos said the acquisitions would also expand its Intelligence Fabric, which it described as a body of telemetry and incident response insights built around operational technology over the past decade. It added that its EmberAI tool for operational environments would draw on the broader data set to provide guidance to analysts using the platform.