 Download "Helping
Utilities Comply With NERC CIP" flyer (227KB)
With utilities in the process of implementing remote access to substation
devices, security becomes an increasingly important facet of substation
engineering, automation and integration.
In North America, NERC's CIP standards for security are mandatory. This profoundly alters how substation
devices
and communication networks are operated and protected.
Read more about NERC.
Cooper Power System's Cybectec product line provides integrated,
operational business solutions that help utilities meet NERC CIP
requirements.
Moreover, the Cybectec product line protects your substation devices
both at the substation level and at the enterprise level, so losing the link
to the corporate LAN/WAN doest not mean losing secure access to substation
devices.
Read on:
Secure Substation Devices without Compromising Access
Widespread access to substation IEDs and their data can become an
important security risk if it is compromised. On the other hand, restricting
access to SCADA only deprives the utility from the greatest benefits of IED
integration.
There must be a balance between securing access to IEDs and distributing
the data to all personnel that benefit from it. The Cybectec product line
provides this balance:
- Cybectec SMP Gateways and
Enterprise
Passthrough Manager secure remote IED access, in a NERC CIP-compliant
manner: Users are authenticated and monitored, device passwords are hidden
from users and detailed logs are kept.
- Cybectec SMP Gateways solve all protocol issues between control
centers and substation devices: the SMP Gateway's powerful
protocol translation features ensures
that no device is stranded outside the network.
Cybectec SMP Gateways and Cybectec Enterprise Solutions
are the perfect combination to ensure secure access to substation IEDs and
their data.
Losing Access to the Corporate Network should not
mean Losing Secure Access to Substation Devices
The Cybectec product line is the only solution to offer secure access to
substation IEDs both at the substation level and at the enterprise level.
This means that even if the enterprise-level secure link is down,
maintenance and operations personnel can still access their substation
devices securely. The Cybectec SMP Gateway guards
the entrance to the substation's electronic security perimeter.
The Cybectec product line creates an intelligent information network that
distributes critical data across your enterprise:
- From the corporate network,
Cybectec
Enterprise Passthrough Manager provides a NERC CIP compliant
enterprise-level single point of access to substation IEDs. Authorized
users go through the Passthrough Server to connect to the IEDs and extract
relevant data, while the server keeps detailed session and usage logs.
- At the substation, the Cybectec SMP Gateway also provides a NERC
CIP-compliant substation-level single point of access to IEDs. Only
authorized users can access substation devices, and their sessions are
logged.
When used together, Cybectec Enterprise Solutions and
the Cybectec SMP Gateway ensure secure access to substation IEDs at all
times, even when connection to the enterprise security server is lost.
Beyond Secure Remote Access to IEDs: Automated Data
Distribution
Innovative utilities will go beyond simply securing access to remote IEDs.
They choose to automate the distribution of data to users.
Utilities connect the Cybectec SMP Gateway to all IEDs
in the substation, regardless of protocol or connection type. The SMP
Gateway supports all serial, TCP/IP and dial-up connections to IEDs.
Operations, protection and maintenance personnel can then passthrough to all
their substation IEDs and send commands as if they were connected.
The SMP Gateway's features bring substation integration to another lever:
automated data distribution. The SMP Gateway can push event files data to the SCADA or
any other control system, so that utilities are warned of a potential
problem as it happens.
When connecting the Enterprise Event Manager to
SMP Gateways, utilities cut down their response times event more: Enterprise
Event Manager will email or page personnel when an event is detected on a
protective relay. Within minutes of the event occurring, utilities can diagnose the
problem and restore service.
For one customer, this has resulted in a 25% improvement of SAIDI / SAIFI
indices.
Cybectec SMP Gateways and Cybectec Enterprise Solutions
send the right data, to the right person, at the right time.
Cyber Security Best Practices
Securing access to electronic devices is not a new business. In fact,
utilities' IT professionals have been doing just that on their corporate
LANs and WANs for years.
Security is not a new concern for the team behind Cybectec products
either. The Cybectec SMP Gateway was introduced with
strong security features long before the NERC CIP standards became
mandatory.
In the substation, the Cybectec SMP Gateway acts as the access point to
all IEDs connected to it. This simplifies communications architecture: all
links from the SMP Gateway to IEDs are already secured by the SMP Gateway
itself.
At the enterprise level, Cybectec Enterprise
Solutions simplifies security management by leveraging the existing
infrastructure to authenticate and authorize users. Users only need to sign
on to their workstations and need not enter any other password to access
IEDs or data. The Cybectec
Security Server handles all security tasks automatically.
The Cybectec product line uses security best practices to ensure NERC CIP
compliance:
Centralized management:
- Implement a global system for substation device access
- Review user accesses periodically from a single system
- Specify operations that users can perform with Cybectec products
Comprehensive access control:
- Individual user accounts
- Complex passwords
- Group permissions
- Account lockout
- Device passwords hidden from users
- Complete activity and session logs
Linked to the existing security infrastructure:
- Users authentication via the standard corporate login credentials
- Support for any available two-factor authentication system (Active
Directory and RSA SecurID)
Strong protection against hackers:
- SSL encryption
- VPN
- Firewall
- Local security database
Cybectec products are NERC CIP-compliant by design: they were developed
to be secure from the start.
Improved Reliability through Improved Security
Implementing NERC CIP compliance at a utility often means additions and
upgrades to existing devices, especially in the substation. Why not use
this opportunity to add devices that can do more than secure access to
substation IEDs?
With the Cybectec SMP Gateway and Enterprise Solutions, utilities go beyond
NERC CIP compliance: they take advantage of a solution that helps them
decrease response times, diagnose faults faster and improve their power
network's overall reliability and health.
Moreover, Cybectec SMP Gateways do not depend on a constant link to the
corporate network: they remain secure and accessible if the link to the
corporate WAN is down, so substation IEDs are always available, always
secure.
Cybectec SMP Gateways also feature comprehensive redundancy support, to
offer even higher availability for critical assets.
Leverage compliance efforts to improve reliability with Cybectec products
Contact Us
For more information on how Cybectec products put you
on the path to NERC CIP compliance, request our white paper: "Meeting
NERC requirements with Cybectec Solutions"
Request a demo | Request a quote |
Download brochures |
Contact Cybectec |
