Case Study: Plum Island Animal Disease Center strengthens BMS and ICS cybersecurity with Red Balloon Security’s Symbiote Embedded Defense

Red balloon security’s symbiote technology strengthens bms and ics at the device level

Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), operated by the DHS Science & Technology Directorate, needed to strengthen the cybersecurity of its complex building management and industrial control systems against risks such as malware, ransomware, and unauthorized commands. Red Balloon Security was brought in to help develop new technology to bolster defenses at the device level, using its Symbiote Embedded Defense for embedded systems.

Red Balloon Security deployed Symbiote directly into BMS device firmware at PIADC, where it continuously checked code and data integrity and blocked unauthorized execution. The solution was successfully demonstrated on an enterprise-grade BMS system, worked alongside a major BMS/ICS vendor, and integrated alerts with the existing HMI across multiple devices, providing a stronger host-based defense for critical facilities.

Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC)