KANSAS CITY, Missouri — 1898 & Co., part of Burns & McDonnell, has formed a partnership with Xage to bring zero-trust security to businesses in critical infrastructure sectors, providing those businesses with the tools they need to digitize operations while keeping them secure.

The partnership will build on the experience of 1898 & Co. and Burns & McDonnell and their more than 120 years of supporting sectors like energy, utilities, transportation, manufacturing, defense industrial bases, airports and water. 1898 & Co. delivers sophisticated services and business outcome solutions to help customers optimize operations and mitigate risk. Identifying and deploying the most advanced cybersecurity solutions is a critical piece of this mission.

The Security & Risk Consulting team at 1898 & Co. provides risk-based advisory, implementation, management and operational services to critical infrastructure companies, improving risk management through resiliency, improved situational awareness and preparedness.

“Helping customers assess their cybersecurity posture and deploy solutions to protect their core mission is foundational to the work we do,” says Matt Morris, managing director of Security & Risk Consulting for 1898 & Co. “For years, we recognized a growing problem in the way operators allow access to their infrastructure. Relying on perimeter-based security combined with blind trust for corporate or industrial control system networks is insufficient.

“That’s why we wanted to partner with Xage and deliver protection services that enforce deterministic design via zero trust for users, devices and systems. Its unique, preventive approach is filling a gap in the critical infrastructure cybersecurity market and giving our customers the ability to effectively defend themselves against threats while simultaneously solving both technological and operational issues within these environments.”

As industrial enterprises bring infrastructure online and enable remote access operational technology (OT) cyberthreats continue to rise. To continue accelerating industrial digital transformation, operators need security solutions that allow them to future-proof their infrastructure without exposing themselves to risk.

“With a goal of optimizing industrial operations, Xage and 1898 & Co. are eager to introduce zero-trust security models to our shared customers,” says Duncan Greatwood, CEO of Xage. “Too many pre-zero-trust approaches to access control and remote access leave cyber vulnerabilities for attacks to penetrate and proliferate through operations.”

Powered by its Fabric technology, Xage offers security for industrial systems that combines zero-trust principles and decentralized enforcement, enabling the secure digitization of operations. Xage’s zero-trust, identity-based security model for the real world gives operators complete granular control over who has access to what and for how long, creating a trusted foundation for every interaction: human-to-machine, machine-to-machine or edge-to-cloud.

In an electrical substation, multiple parties require varying degrees of control and access. For instance, the operating organization and contracted equipment vendors have different needs when performing maintenance on installed systems. Xage’s zero-trust solutions allow for finely tuned remote and local user access management, utilizing identity to verify and authorize access based on individual roles. In this scenario, each participating party receives access tailored to its needs while seeing that access management is secure, convenient and error-free.

“With 1898 & Co.’s deep OT cybersecurity experience combined with Xage’s advanced security solutions, we are eager to expedite the adoption of zero-trust security in the real world,” Greatwood says.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 7,600 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities with 60 offices globally. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned company and proud to be ranked in the top 5% of Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms and in the upper quartile of the top 100 design-build and construction management firms. Learn how we are designed to build.

About 1898 & Co.

1898 & Co. is a business, technology and cybersecurity consulting firm serving the industries that keep our world in motion. As part of Burns & McDonnell, our consultants leverage global experience in critical infrastructure assets to innovate practical solutions grounded in your operational realities. For more information, visit 1898andCo.com.

About Xage

Xage is the first and only zero-trust real-world security company. Powered by the Xage Fabric, the company’s Identity & Access Management (IAM), remote access and dynamic data security solutions allow customers to secure, manage and transform operations. With its scalable and easy-to-operate Fabric, Xage solves the complex digitization challenges of the real-world operations we rely on.