Industrial control systems can be found at almost every organization that operates heavy machinery, from the energy companies drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico to the world’s leading electronics makers. As a result, they’re a natural target for hackers. This growing threat is creating demand for specialized industrial security software that an Israeli startup called Indegy Inc. hopes to tap with the help of an investor group led by Vertex Ventures.

The consortium funneled $12 million into the outfit today as part of a funding round meant to finance the development of additional features for its breach prevention solution. The Indegy Industrial Cyber Security Platform comes in the form of a pre-configured appliance that can be set up without having to pause production or deploy any software agents. Once installation is complete, it’s able to automatically map out the controllers in the network and then quickly start looking for potential threats.

The process starts with the appliance individually scanning every node for configuration issues that might create an opening for hackers. The platform examines everything from the built-in firmware up the applications running on top and their installation settings, according to Indegy. Unused open ports, weak passwords and other issues detected during the scan are then brought to the attention of administrators via a graphical dashboard that also displays network activity patterns. The latter feature is powered by a homegrown deep packet inspection engine that the startup says was specifically developed with industrial environments in mind. Its website states that the engine can analyze controller output transmitted via vendor-specific protocols in real-time to catch unauthorized commands before they cause too much harm.

The functionality makes it possible to detect not only malicious activity but also compliance violations and operator errors, which are often just as big of a problem in the industrial sector. As a result, Indegy’s appliance can be useful in a wide range of different environments, from pharmaceutical factories to power grids and water treatment facilities. The new features that the startup will develop using today’s funding should help broaden the platform’s appeal even further.

Additionally, Indegy will also plans to spend some of the cash on expanding sales and marketing efforts in a bid to raise awareness about its offering. The investment brings the startup’s total raised to $18 million.

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