Electricity companies around the world are facing an alarming spike in cyber-attacks, sometimes with dramatic consequences. To help energy companies fight back, Swiss start-up Nozomi Networks is deploying machine learning to identify any anomalies in a network that could indicate a cyberattack.
In contrast to standard anti-virus products and firewalls, which aim to defend against specific threats, Nozomi software tracks the 10,000 variables of a power plant in real time to make sure nothing untoward is taking place.
Nozomi’s largest client is Italian energy company Enel, which also provided Nozomi with support from its INCENSe accelerator program for start-ups.
“Start-ups like Nozomi are very good at understanding technology trends and developing the right products for any gaps in the market,” says Luciano Tommasi, the head of start-up activities and business incubator at Enel. Demand for Nozomi’s services is accelerating rapidly as cyberattacks increase, founder Andrea Carcano reveals: “We have gone from one attack per year 10 years ago, to one reported attack per day now”
