A new, tablet-sized media scanner boasts a wide range of capabilities for critical infrastructure defense. Credit: OPSWAT Infrastructure protection vendor OPSWAT has announced the availability of its new MetaDefender Kiosk K2100 hardware, designed to provide a mobile option for users who want the company’s media-scanning capabilities to work in the field.OPSWAT’s MetaDefender line of kiosks is designed to address a potential security weakness for critical infrastructure defended by air gaps. In order to patch those systems, audit them, or move data among them, removable media like SD cards, USB sticks and sometimes even DVDs are used by field service personnel.The vulnerability of the removable media is, therefore, a potential problem, according to OPSWAT vice president of products Pete Lund, not least in the sense that that media could be used to move sensitive information off of critical infrastructure. “Oftentimes in OT [operational technology], you’ll have third-party contractors, and oftentimes they need to take data off of the machines,” he said. “What we can do is scan information coming in and coming out for PII, hostnames, anything that’s sensitive data … and sanitize files for that.” The MetaDefender Kiosk line also scans files on removable media using up to 30 different antivirus protection applications, as well as checking through binaries and executables for vendor and version info, to determine whether they could introduce vulnerabilities into protected systems.Moreover, MetaDefender uses content disarm and reconstruction technology to protect against zero-day attacks, Lund noted. “So oftentimes, zero-days will include things that matches specific pattern, like you have a PDF or a Word document with something embedded into it,” he said. “And we … think about the use case of a contractor who goes to maybe a vendor website, downloads a PDF, but what if this is actually a watering hole website where that PDF has been weaponized?”Hence, the CDR (content disarm and reconstruction) technology in the MetaDefender system is designed to rebuild a PDF or Word document to remove any code or macros that don’t need to be there.Lund said that the target customers are mostly in the manufacturing, chemical processing, energy and oil industries — but that the system is applicable to any organization that has a geographically dispersed or outdoor component to their operations.“The other side is folks doing digital evidence collection, so folks in either the armed forces or military who are picking up potential criminally used laptops, thumb drives, phones,” he said. “We have the ability to scan, ultimately, anything.”The K2100 can be ordered from OPSWAT as of now, with shipments expected to start going out later in the first quarter. The product is available in either a perpetual model — where the hardware can be bought outright, with licensing fees for the AV engines and different capabilities — or as a subscription leasing model with an annual use fee. Related content news Most attacks affecting SMBs target five older vulnerabilities Attackers target flaws for a reason: Even years after they are discovered, they still work. By John Dunn Apr 30, 2024 4 mins Threat and Vulnerability Management Network Security Vulnerabilities opinion Close the barn door now! Avoid the risk of not monitoring retained access before it’s a problem There’s usually a strict protocol for granting access to systems or data to a new employee or contractor. But there are perils in not keeping tabs on that access as that person moves around or leaves. By Christopher Burgess Apr 30, 2024 6 mins CSO and CISO Access Control Human Resources feature Cyber breach misinformation creates a haze of uncertainty A string of recent false or misleading cyber breach reports, fueled by rampant online dissemination, is fostering an atmosphere of growing misinformation that makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction. By Cynthia Brumfield Apr 30, 2024 9 mins CSO and CISO Data Breach Security Practices brandpost Sponsored by Microsoft Security Want to drive more secure GenAI? Try automating your red teaming Automation can enhance an AI red teamer’s existing domain expertise while offloading tedious tasks. Learn more today. By Microsoft Security Apr 29, 2024 5 mins Security PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe