Westinghouse Electric Company and McAfee has announced that the two companies have entered into a worldwide agreement in which Westinghouse will provide McAfee Enterprise Security Manager and Network Intrusion Prevention Systems to currently operating nuclear power plants having digital control systems and new plants under construction around the world.

The agreement enables Westinghouse to offer its customers stronger attack detection and prevention capabilities through security information and event management, and intrusion prevention specifically designed to address architectural and threat concerns to nuclear power plant control systems.

"This agreement will help us to deliver cyber security in accordance with some of our industry associations' best practices and guidelines," said David Howell, senior vice president of Westinghouse Nuclear Automation.

"We are pleased to team with McAfee and expand our capabilities to help our customers maintain cyber security for digital control systems at both operating nuclear plants and those currently under construction."

Westinghouse selected McAfee after thoroughly evaluating, testing and certifying its systems. McAfee Enterprise Security Manager provides deep security visibility for stronger attack detection and incident response, including threats specific to nuclear plant control systems. McAfee Network Intrusion Prevention provides advanced threat prevention designed specifically for control systems architectures.

Together, the two solutions protect control systems from direct threats and attacks launched through corporate network connections. The two systems are regulatory compliant nationally and in countries throughout the world.

"This partnership is a great step in the essential fight to keep critical infrastructure safe," said Ken Levine, senior vice president and general manager of McAfee Risk and Compliance.

"We applaud Westinghouse in leading the nuclear industry by integrating essential security components into their control system. Our selection as the security solution partner of Westinghouse is a testament to our solution's performance and manageability, as well as the extensive investment in research and development we've made in the security of control systems."