According to Joann and Eric Byres, the company will continue to operate
independently as a business unit under Belden. The Tofino Security brand
remains. They say in a blog post, “BSI will continue:

• Developing technology for robust industrial control system security
• Helping companies adopt industrial security solutions
• Advocating for a higher level of industrial cyber security within organizations
• Contributing to the development of industrial cyber security standards.”

Further, they note, “We will carry on leading Byres Security, with Joann
as General Manager and VP and Eric as CTO and VP Engineering, and we
are committed to developing the business for many years.  Our
experienced BSI team remains intact. Existing Tofino Security product
lines will be actively developed, sold and supported. Red and blue
Tofino Security Appliances are going to continue to appear in factories
and plants around the world, only in more shapes and sizes. Our
partners, who have been key to our success, will continue to remain very
important to us.  We look forward to continuing to work with MTL
Instruments, Honeywell, Invensys and all of our Tofino Certified VARs
and SIs.”

Under Belden, the Byres expect investment in R&D and product
development to increase with Tofino Security technology incorporated
into Belden products and an expansion into a wider range of hardware
platforms.
The reason to sell to Belden seems to be primarily that they have been
working with the Hirschmann group for about two years, developing a
strong working relationship over time. Belden already incorporates
Tofino Security in its Eagle line of products while Byres uses
Hirschmann hardware in many of its own products.

Gary Mintchell ( gmintchell@automationworld.com) is Editor in Chief of Automation World magazine.