Eric Byres’ name has been widely associated with industrial control system security since he began his tenure at the BCIT Critical Infrastructure Security Centre in 2000. Since 2006 he’s been chief technology officer at Byres Security, maker of Tofino Industrial Security. In 2011, Tofino became a Belden brand, leading Byres to be named CTO and vice president of engineering for Tofino Security.
At the ISA Automation Week conference taking place in Nashville this week, ISA has officially recognized Byres for his “leadership in developing numerous innovations, industry standards, and best practices in industrial cyber security.”
Byres chairs several ISA groups working to establish industry standards (ISA-99), assess current risks and develop a framework to protect facilities from cyber-attacks. He also serves as one of the industry’s go-to subject matter experts on the impact of Stuxnet on control systems security.
In presenting Byres with the award, ISA noted the importance of Byres’ vision in centering on two key pillars: robust security tailored for industrial requirements and simple deployment. This approach underlies Byres’ Tofino Industrial Security — a system that protects industrial networks from external threats and internal network incidents.
Last May, Byres spoke at The Automation Conference in Chicago on the industrial security topic of air gaps, noting that their existence is akin to the existence of unicorns. You can see a video of his presentation at: http://www.automationworld.com/security/unicorns-air-gaps-do-they-really-exist
