Valmet and Elisa are jointly deploying a global cyber security operations centre (CSOC) to defend connected machinery.
Valmet supplies automation systems and process technologies for the energy, pulp, and paper industries. Digitising these massive, physical operations yields incredible efficiency, but it simultaneously invites devastating cyber threats.
Protecting this hardware is fundamentally different from securing standard corporate IT. If a firewall flags suspicious traffic, you cannot just reboot a blast furnace or isolate a mid-cycle turbine. Shutting industrial equipment down abruptly ruins raw materials, causes physical damage, and endangers human life.
Through the Elisa partnership, Valmet is building a defence apparatus that speaks the language of industrial automation. The global operations centre will monitor cloud infrastructure, endpoints, and network traffic across Valmet’s worldwide footprint.
Arto Huuskonen, VP of IT Transformation at Valmet, said: “At Valmet, our goal is to move toward an increasingly dynamic and customer-centric future. To achieve this goal, we need world-leading digital solutions that not only elevate our capabilities to a new level but also ensure our cost efficiency.
“Elisa has convinced us with its ability to offer modern services that flexibly meet our specific needs and help safeguard our business continuity. We are extremely pleased that our long and successful collaboration will now continue and expand into new areas.”
Defending connected machinery
Legacy hardware makes the security equation complex. Many industrial facilities still run on equipment built twenty or thirty years ago. Engineers designed these machines long before the internet became a ubiquitous threat vector.
The partnership delivers continuous threat hunting, vulnerability management, and incident response tailored specifically to heavy industry. CSOC analysts will look past standard malware signatures. Instead, they will track micro-anomalies suggesting state-sponsored actors are mapping an energy facility, monitor for deviations in machinery control protocols, and watch for unauthorised commands sent to remote valves.
Elisa brings a distinct advantage here: network-level visibility from its background as a major telecoms provider. Telecom operators see raw data routing. They can spot lateral network movement or DDoS attacks well before those threats ever trigger an endpoint alarm. Merging Elisa’s network intelligence with Valmet’s deep industrial knowledge creates a specialised defensive posture.
Timo Katajisto, Executive VP of Corporate Customers at Elisa, commented: “Valmet is a rapidly transforming industry pioneer, and its partners must also be able to support Valmet in the company’s ambitious goals.
“We are proud that Valmet trusts Elisa and has decided to expand the scale of our collaboration. Together, we are building a high-quality digital environment for Valmet where telecommunications and cyber security go hand in hand.”
The cost of vulnerable iron
Ransomware gangs heavily target manufacturing and industrial infrastructure because they know these companies cannot afford downtime. A halted paper mill burns hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour, and a compromised energy plant sparks immediate geopolitical tension.
Attackers look for the weakest links in the supply chain and will often bypass the primary corporate network entirely, targeting unsecured IoT devices installed by third-party contractors. Once inside, hackers lock the control screens and demand extortionate payouts to restore physical operations.
Regulators are now also mandating strict security baselines and incident reporting for operators of essential infrastructure. The European Union’s NIS2 directive goes further, placing direct legal liability on corporate boards for cyber incidents that disrupt transportation, manufacturing, and energy networks. Non-compliance results in heavy fines.
Valmet’s CSOC investment highlights a growing realisation among industry leaders: security must scale alongside automation. Companies either build the infrastructure required to protect connected machines, or leave valuable assets exposed to global predators. The industrial internet runs on data, but it survives on defense.
Will other heavy industry leaders build dedicated operations centres, or will they wait for a catastrophic factory floor breach to force their hand?
See also: How edge computing is changing machinery management
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