Industrial cybersecurity firm Nozomi Networks Inc. today introduced Guardian Air, a new wireless spectrum sensor that advances modern threat detection and remediation in operation technology and internet of things environments.

A wireless spectrum sensor operates by continuously scanning and analyzing the wireless spectrum to detect and identify various wireless signals. They detect unauthorized or rogue devices, such as illicit Wi-Fi access points and unusual signal behaviors that could indicate cybersecurity threats such as so-called spoofing or jamming attacks.

Nozomi Networks’ new Guardian Air provides visibility into wirelessly enabled devices, which until now were primarily detected only once connected to the wired network. The sensor monitors prominent wireless frequencies, not just Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, to provide security teams with immediate visibility of connected sensors, devices, laptops and cell phones.

The new sensor allows information technology security professionals and OT operators to do continuous monitoring of prominent wireless frequency technologies used in OT and IoT environments, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, LoRaWAN, Zigbee, GPS, drone RF protocols and WirelessHART. Guardian Air immediately detects wirelessly connected assets and gathers asset information to address unauthorized installations.

When wireless-specific threats are detected, such as brute-force attacks, spoofing and bluejacking, the sensor can determine the location of the devices performing the attacks. The wireless data is integrated into a single OT and IoT security platform that unifies asset visibility from the endpoint to wired and wireless networks, according to the company.

“Wireless is fundamentally changing the way industrial organizations operate. Unfortunately, it also massively expands the potential attack surface,” said Andrea Carcano, co-founder and chief product officer at Nozomi Networks. “Guardian Air solves this problem by giving customers the accurate visibility they need at the wireless level to minimize risk while maximizing resiliency.”

Carcano added that as “Guardian Air integrates easily into the Nozomi Networks Vantage platform, customers can combine network, endpoint and wireless for the greatest visibility, threat detection and AI-powered analysis for real-time security management and remediation across the entire attack surface.”

The Nozomi Guardian Air wireless sensor will be available in spring from Nozomi Networks and through channel partners.

Image: Nozomi Networks