ARIA Cybersecurity Announces Major Oil Refiner Deploys AZT PROTECT(TM)

Rhea-AI Summary

ARIA Cybersecurity (NASDAQ:CSPI) announced its first deployment of AZT PROTECT inside a major US oil refiner’s operational technology environment on February 24, 2026. The solution is presented as simple to deploy, automated, and designed to lock down critical applications, stop code‑based exploits, and extend life of unsupported systems.

ARIA says AZT protects critical apps without Internet updates, reduces false positives, and can defer multi‑million‑dollar upgrade programs while aiming to reduce costly production disruptions reportedly costing "$100,000's an hour."

Positive

• First deployment at a major US oil refiner
• Protects critical OT applications without Internet updates
• Extends life of vendor‑unsupported legacy systems
• Automated, simple deployment reduced false positives
• Stops code‑based exploits, malware, ransomware, nation‑state techniques

Negative

• Single customer deployment; broader adoption not disclosed
• No contract value, term, or revenue impact disclosed

News Market Reaction – CSPI

+1.47%

1 alert

+1.47% News Effect

On the day this news was published, CSPI gained 1.47%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Availability requirement: 24x7

1 metrics

Availability requirement 24x7 Critical infrastructure services needed to stay locked down and available 24x7

Market Reality Check

Price: $9.00 Vol: Volume 38,803 is 1.29x th...

normal vol

$9.00 Last Close

Volume Volume 38,803 is 1.29x the 20-day average of 29,999 shares. normal

Technical Shares at $8.87 are trading below the 200-day MA of $12.10 and sit close to the 52-week low of $8.625, well under the $18.145 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

CSPI fell 2.63% while key peers like CTM, TDTH, NOTE, TTEC, and WYY also traded ...

CSPI fell 2.63% while key peers like CTM, TDTH, NOTE, TTEC, and WYY also traded lower (up to low double‑digit declines), but no peers were flagged in the momentum scanner and no same-day peer news was recorded, suggesting a more stock-specific backdrop.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Feb 12 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Feb 12	Q1 2026 results	Positive	-8.4%	Reported Q1 profit with higher gross margin and growing services revenue.
Feb 09	Product collaboration	Positive	-1.6%	Showcased AZT PROTECT with Acronis to extend Windows 10 OT system life.
Feb 06	Earnings date set	Neutral	+2.9%	Announced timing and webcast details for upcoming Q1 2026 results.
Dec 16	FY25 results	Positive	-15.4%	Reported FY25 revenue growth, margin expansion, and stronger services mix.
Dec 12	Earnings date set	Neutral	-3.2%	Scheduled FY25 Q4 and full-year report and related conference call.

Pattern Detected

Recent history shows a pattern where fundamentally positive or strategically important updates, including AZT PROTECT progress and improving margins, have often been followed by negative next-day price moves.

Recent Company History

Over the last several months, CSPi has highlighted improving fundamentals and growing traction for ARIA’s AZT PROTECT. Fiscal Q1 2026 revenue was $12.0M with gross margin of 39.3% and net income of $91K, yet the stock fell 8.42% the next day. Earlier, fiscal 2025 revenue reached $58.7M with services growth and a $0.03 dividend, but that release also saw a double‑digit decline. Multiple AZT PROTECT announcements likewise drew modest or negative reactions, suggesting investors have been cautious despite product momentum.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement underscores ARIA Cybersecurity’s progress embedding AZT PROTECT into critical OT e...

Analysis

This announcement underscores ARIA Cybersecurity’s progress embedding AZT PROTECT into critical OT environments, highlighted by deployment at a major U.S. oil refiner. The deal reinforces the product’s positioning around legacy system protection and avoiding costly production disruptions. Recent filings show CSPi balancing modest profitability, stronger gross margins, and ongoing dividends, while earlier disclosures noted prior softness in ARIA revenues. Investors may watch for how additional AZT PROTECT wins, services growth, and future earnings updates build on this customer reference and affect segment mix over time.

Key Terms

ot infrastructure, endpoint protection system, malware, ransomware, +2 more

6 terms

ot infrastructure technical

"its first deployment within a major US Oil refiner's critical OT infrastructure."

Operational technology (OT) infrastructure is the network of physical devices, sensors, controllers and the software that monitors and controls machinery, industrial systems and other equipment — think of it as the electrical and plumbing system that keeps a factory or utility running. Investors care because problems, cyberattacks or outdated OT can stop production, increase costs, trigger regulatory fines and force large unplanned investments, all of which affect a company’s revenue and valuation.

endpoint protection system technical

"the way we did with our prior endpoint protection system."

An endpoint protection system is software that guards individual devices—like laptops, phones and servers—against cyberattacks, malware and unauthorized access, acting like a security guard for each device that watches for threats and blocks or isolates them. Investors care because strong endpoint protection reduces the chance of costly data breaches, operational shutdowns, regulatory fines and reputational damage, which can affect a company’s earnings, legal exposure and stock price.

malware technical

"stopping all forms of malware, ransomware, and nation-state backed attacks"

Malware is malicious software that infiltrates computers, networks or devices to damage systems, steal or corrupt data, or disrupt normal operations — like a digital burglar or pest that sneaks in and tampers with a business’s tools and records. For investors, malware matters because attacks can cause service outages, lost sales, costly cleanup and legal penalties, erode customer trust, and create sudden, material risks to revenue and stock price.

ransomware technical

"stopping all forms of malware, ransomware, and nation-state backed attacks"

Ransomware is malicious software that locks or encrypts a company’s computer files and systems, then demands payment for their release — like a thief changing the locks on a business and asking for a ransom. It matters to investors because attacks can halt operations, trigger large cleanup costs, damage customer trust, lead to regulatory fines or legal claims, and reduce future revenue, all of which can hurt a company’s financial value.

operating systems technical

"applications and the operating systems on which they run."

An operating system is the core software that controls a computer or device, managing hardware, running applications and coordinating tasks much like a building manager who assigns rooms, power and security to tenants. It matters to investors because the choice and quality of an operating system shape a company’s product compatibility, user base, security risk and recurring revenue from app stores or services—factors that drive market share, costs and future growth.

data exfiltration technical

"improve threat detection and surgically disrupt cyberattacks and data exfiltration."

Data exfiltration is the unauthorized copying or removal of sensitive information from an organization’s systems, like someone sneaking files out of a locked office. It matters to investors because stolen data can lead to direct financial loss, regulatory fines, legal liability, damage to customer trust, and operational disruption — all of which can reduce revenue and share value and create unpredictable costs for the company.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

ARIA's AZT PROTECT^™ protects a major US oil refiner from attacks while locking down critical systems from production disruptions

LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS / ACCESS Newswire / February 24, 2026 / ARIA Cybersecurity, a CSPi business (NASDAQ:CSPi) announced its first deployment within a major US Oil refiner's critical OT infrastructure.

A major oil refiner was struggling to keep critical infrastructure protected:

• Critical applications had to remain fully protected

• The potential disruption to production costs is $100,000's an hour

• Critical infrastructure services needed to stay locked down from disruptive updates and available 24x7

• The crew managing the legacy cyber protection systems needed a simpler more automated approach to reduce production disruption due to false positives.

• Out of support critical applications - no longer getting security patches, are too costly to upgrade - if there is no justifiable bottom-line ROI.

ARIA's AZT PROTECT solution was the only solution that solved these challenges with an affordable, simple-to-deploy, and fully automated protection solution.

What further set ARIA AZT PROTECT apart:

• ARIA demonstrated how it keeps critical applications protected and never needs updates from the Internet - reducing the risk.

• ARIA demonstrated how AZT's patented approach can protect against vulnerability exploit attacks that up until now the industry could only rely on vendor patches to stop.

• Thereby extending the life of systems their vendor's had stopped patching - pushing off multi-million-dollar upgrade programs which are complex, lengthy and disrupt production as they are phased in.

"We were surprised when we put in the ARIA AZT solution," said the Director of Operations. "It more than met our expectations due to how easy it was to deploy and operate. We don't have to keep watching for false positives the way we did with our prior endpoint protection system. We are looking forward to the potential savings - in the refining business, cutting down production disruptions and putting off forced upgrades ends up going right to the bottom line."

"We are pleased to have been given a chance to prove our value to protect this important market that provides critical services to powering the US economy, Said Gary Southwell, President of ARIA Cybersecurity."

AZT PROTECT provides a lock-down approach to protecting critical infrastructure applications from unintended updates as well as attacks such as stopping all forms of malware, ransomware, and nation-state backed attacks on these applications and the operating systems on which they run. In addition, AZT stops code-based exploits that previously had to be stopped by OS or application-based security patches, thus extending the useful life of such legacy system-based production systems - once such patches are no longer provided by the vendor(s).

The solution utilizes patented reactive AI-based countermeasures to stop the attacks as they land on an operation's most vulnerable critical production control systems. These countermeasures lock down critical applications from unscheduled updates and adulteration while stopping code-based attacks, such as malware and ransomware, from executing. Further, they disrupt the techniques nation-state-backed attackers utilize to land, expand, and then escalate privileges to take control of such systems.

To learn more about the capabilities between Acronis and ARIA's AZT PROTECT, visit: www.ariacybersecurity.com/aria-azt-protect/

About ARIA Cybersecurity

ARIA Cybersecurity, a business of CSPi Inc. (NASDAQ:CSPI), recognizes that better, stronger, more effective cybersecurity starts with a smarter approach. Our solutions provide new ways for organizations to protect their most critical assets-they can shield their critical applications from attack with our AZT PROTECT solution, while monitoring internal traffic, device-level logs, and alert output with our ARIA ADR solution to substantially improve threat detection and surgically disrupt cyberattacks and data exfiltration. Customers in a range of industries rely on our solutions to protect their most critical assets and applications-no matter where they are stored, used, or accessed. Learn more at ARIACybersecurity.com.

ARIA Cybersecurity Media Contact
Gary Southwell
info@ariacybersecurity.com

SOURCE: CSP, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What did ARIA Cybersecurity (CSPI) announce on February 24, 2026 about AZT PROTECT?

ARIA announced a first deployment of AZT PROTECT inside a major US oil refiner’s OT environment. According to the company, the deployment locks down critical applications, stops code‑based exploits, and operates without Internet updates to reduce disruption risks.

How does AZT PROTECT claim to reduce production disruptions for CSPI customers?

AZT PROTECT locks critical applications and blocks exploit code and malware to reduce downtime. According to the company, the approach lowers false positives and prevents unscheduled updates that can cause production disruptions and costly outages.

Can AZT PROTECT extend the life of legacy systems for CSPI customers?

Yes — AZT PROTECT is presented to extend legacy system life by stopping exploits without vendor patches. According to the company, this capability can defer multi‑million‑dollar upgrade programs and postpone disruptive system replacements.

Does the ARIA announcement disclose contract size or revenue impact for CSPI?

No — the press information does not disclose contract value, term, or direct revenue impact. According to the company, details focus on technology capability and a first deployment rather than financial terms.

What specific threats does AZT PROTECT claim to stop for CSPI customers?

AZT PROTECT claims to stop malware, ransomware, nation‑state attack techniques, and code‑based exploits on critical applications. According to the company, patented reactive AI countermeasures lock down applications and prevent exploit execution at the OS level.

How did the oil refiner describe operating AZT PROTECT after deployment?

The refiner said the solution exceeded expectations, was easy to deploy, and reduced false positives compared with prior endpoint protection. According to the company, the deployment improved operational simplicity and could deliver cost savings by reducing disruptions.