Woodside will take a 10 per cent shareholding in a Western Australian cyber security firm that specialises in protecting critical infrastructure.
The resources company announced today that, subject to conditions precedent, it would buy into Sapien Cyber Ltd.
Sapien describes itself as providing a security solution for security both IT and OT. Woodside said that Sapien “is a 100% Australian-owned technology platform that provides clients unprecedented network visibility, dynamic real-time monitoring and actionable intelligence to dramatically reduce the vulnerability of digital systems to cyber attack.”
“Our unique approach offers unparalleled, real-time visibility to the client’s network, detecting operational technology cyber threats before they can wreak havoc,” said Sapien’s chairperson, John Poynton.
The company grew out of research at Edith Cowan University and was founded in late 2016. It conducts R&D at ECU’s Security Research Institute, which houses the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CyberSec CRC).
Woodside’s chief technology officer, Shaun Gregory, will join Sapien’s advisory board.
“Woodside is proud to be supporting another Western Australian technology company,” the CTO said in a statement.
“The sophistication of Sapien Cyber’s technology platform has the potential to deliver a comprehensive and multi-dimensional cyber security solution to protect Woodside’s operating assets.”
The company’s 2018 annual report noted “cyber security attack” as a potential risk to Woodside’s data and systems.
“Our exposure to cyber security risk is managed by a control framework and the continuing focus on system control improvements, supported by an established and embedded security strategy across the organisation,” the report said.