Dragos, Inc., the global leader in cybersecurity for industrial controls systems (ICS)/operational technology (OT) environments, today announced that it is expanding its presence in Australia and New Zealand to offer companies in this growth market more access to its industrial cybersecurity technology and services, and to further develop ICS/OT cybersecurity talent across the region to ensure customer success.

“The convergence of an increasingly ICS-aware and capable threat landscape with the trend towards more network connectivity presents industrial organisations with a set of cybersecurity challenges that are truly global in nature,” said Robert M. Lee, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Dragos, Inc. “Our expansion into the Australia and New Zealand markets will enable us to not just better partner with companies in the region to ensure that they are successful in their industrial cybersecurity journey, but also to help foster the local ICS/OT cybersecurity practitioner community through ongoing education and engagement.”

The company has opened a regional headquarters in Melbourne and will add employees and facilities through 2021 to augment the capabilities of its existing Australia-based team. In addition, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s investment company, Turnbull & Partners, has made an investment in Dragos as part of its record-setting Series C round of funding, announced by the company on December 8, 2020. Mr. Turnbull was on the front lines of the cybersecurity threat during his tenure as Prime Minister and will be helping Dragos as it expands in the region. Dragos is using part of the proceeds from its Series C funding round to accelerate the next stage of the company’s worldwide operations in order to address the burgeoning market for industrial cybersecurity solutions.

“The cyber threat to operational technology has never been greater than it is today,” said Mr. Turnbull. “We face many challenges in defending Australia and New Zealand’s large, complex industries from these threats. We chose to invest in Dragos because it is providing world-leading industrial cybersecurity expertise and technology at a time when vital industries are being challenged more than ever.”

Dragos has been working with Jemena – a leading Australian energy infrastructure company – since 2020 to ensure that its operations are defended from cyber threats. Jemena delivers electricity and gas to over 1.7 million customers across New South Wales and Victoria and owns and operates some of the country’s most significant gas pipeline infrastructure, including the Eastern Gas Pipeline – the main gas arterial on Australia’s east coast.

“Cyber-attacks pose an increasing risk to businesses like ours which are relied on to deliver energy to many homes and businesses across the country,” said Dave Worthington, Digital Security and Risk Manager for Jemena. “By partnering with Dragos we have access to a team that goes beyond what traditional information technology cybersecurity vendors can offer. This gives us and our customers peace of mind that we are well defended from cyber threats.”

Dragos’s announcement of its expansion in the Australia/New Zealand region follows the February 24, 2021 release of its ICS 2020 Year in Review (YIR). The Dragos YIR report is an annual analysis of ICS/OT focused cyber threats, vulnerabilities, assessments, and incident response insights. This year’s report found that new ICS/OT cybersecurity threat activity groups are growing 3X faster than they are going quiet, underscoring the rise in threat activity across all regions of the world.