​The common lab amplifies a joint-lab collaboration which began in 2019. It will build on the recent successes in evaluating security technologies to improve the security posture of Schneider Electric's products and solutions. Over the next three years, new and innovative security solutions and state-of-the-art security testing tools will be explored, leveraging the work and concepts achieved so far. The extended collaboration will benefit from the facilities of a dedicated lab within the premises of the CEA in Grenoble.

Addressing Challenges of the Perpetual Search to Improve the Security and Resilience of OT Systems While Increasing their Sustainability and Efficiency

For Schneider Electric, resilience is a must have: data breaches or malicious attacks can lead to revenue and reputational loss and to physical damage to critical machines or individuals. To achieve those goals of resilience, Schneider Electric models and continuously fortifies its products through the management of risks pertaining to their customers, their operations, and their critical infrastructure. Schneider Electric has established a company-wide cybersecurity culture, partnering with its ecosystem members across the value chain to build trust and raise the defense level of industry at large. The CEA on its side has been pioneering world-class research and innovation in cybersecurity for over 20 years, leveraged by its own operational cybersecurity requirements. The collaboration between Schneider Electric and the CEA on OT cybersecurity is hence quite a natural one for enhancing the security of solutions for energy management and industrial automation.

Michael Pyle, Director of Product Cybersecurity at Schneider Electric, said: 

Our collaboration with CEA has allowed us to leverage our in-depth knowledge of commercial and industrial applications and CEA's deep technical skill set to build a strong, two-way partnership that will benefit both Schneider Electric and our customers and this will be pursued for the next three years."

Sébastien Dauvé, CEA-Leti CEO, said:

CEA's expertise in cybersecurity complements Schneider Electric's approach built on secure and resilient digital technologies for its energy management and industrial automation business. Securing embedded systems and their data is one of the strong areas of expertise at CEA, and a key differentiating attribute that is highly appreciated by our industrial partners. This extension will open the way for us to continue innovating to bring new secure solutions and testing tools to those markets."