NEWS

NES security offers industry leading threat detection and even greater protection from cyber attacks.

 

San Jose, CA, November 2, 2015: Networked Energy Services Corporation (NES), a global smart grid market leader, announced that it has released new security features to the three tiers of its Patagonia platform architecture. These features enable the NES solution with enhanced encryption and authentication algorithms as well as sophisticated key derivation and update mechanisms, raising the bar on implemented security systems in the Smart Grid. Patagonia security is available to existing and new customers, and supports both the current as well as previous generation products.

 

The new security offer is a result of close collaboration between NES, its Denmark based customer, SEAS-NVE, and the OSGP Alliance. Starting in 2013, NES and SEAS-NVE began work on combined initiatives to bring specific application usage, market requirements and utility insights from SEAS-NVE to the global technical development team of NES in San Jose. The result is a roadmap for the NES Security System to take advantage of the highest security levels technology can provide, the first step being the updated system now available. This enhancement already implements the updated OSGP-AES-128-PSK protocol released in July of this year and is standard across all OSGP products.

 

“The collaboration with NES on security topics has allowed us to get further insights on the security system and work together on ensuring our grid is secured as strongly as possible. Security is a key concern of modern distribution systems like ours, it is highly technical and complex but the issue is simple, it is all about customer trust and we take it very seriously. Working on this collaboration with NES was a logical step to ensuring protection of our grid and serving our customers” said Bo Danielsen Head of metering and installation.

 

Miracle A/S, a Danish company with more than 400 IT experts focused on a wide range of technical platforms including corporate services, cloud computing and mobile communications, reviewed the revised OSGP specification. Michael Østergaard, OSCP, Ph.D., responsible for Cryptography and Information Security at Miracle stated, “Overall, the protocol is secure, well designed and based on established cryptographic primitives (AES, CMAC and CCM) with reasonable parameters. These cryptographic primitives are used in ways that should not give rise to currently known attacks against them.”

 

“Security is a key, if not the highest priority for NES given the importance to the industry.” said Michael Anderson, CEO NES. “We are very proud of continuously raising the bar and ensuring the NES system is secure and leads the industry. Security is never complete, it is an ever evolving effort to address new threats and we will continue to keep our customers’ systems strongly protected.”

 

About Networked Energy Services Corporation (NES)

 

Networked Energy Services Corporation (http://www.networkedenergy.com) is a global smart energy leader in the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into an energy control network, enabling utilities to connect to their customers, offer new services and help them compete more effectively, through solutions which can help reduce operating costs, provide expanded services and help energy end users to become active participants in energy conservation. The company was formed as a result of the spinoff of Echelon Corporation’s Grid Modernization Division in October 2014. NES has its headquarters in the US, with design and R&D Centers located in Silicon Valley/California, Fargo/North Dakota, Linz/Austria, and sales offices throughout the world. Networked Energy Services' solution, based on Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP), is used in more than 4 million smart end points by utilities around the world. NES primary shareholders include S&T AG and Cedrus Enterprises Holdings. You can find out more information about NES and its products, including smart meters, data concentrator nodes, and head-end software, at http://www.networkedenergy.com.

 

About SEAS-NVE

 

SEAS-NVE are one of Denmark’s largest energy and fiber companies and the largest cooperatively owned energy and fiber company. SEAS-NVE have recently celebrated our 100 years birthday. Today the company employs 600 people and has an annual turnover of 3.9 billion DKR.

SEAS-NVE’s primary supply area is West and South Zealand, Møn and Lolland-Falster.

SEAS-NVE’s supply grid covers private homes – but also large and small businesses, municipal and regional institutions – and the entire region’s infrastructure, such as street lighting and traffic lights.

Our distribution grid comprises 23,085 kilometres of cable – equivalent to half way around the globe together.

All our grid customers can freely choose their electricity supplier. But we are responsible for the cable grid and must ensure that our customers have electricity at all times.

An important prerequisite for competition in the Danish electricity market is equal and non-discriminating access to the distribution grid. SEAS-NVE’s distribution grid is owned by SEAS-NVE Net. The grid is used by other SEAS-NVE companies and external electricity suppliers.

Historically, SEAS-NVE has been at the forefront in many areas – in the development of our region.

Therefore, we see it as SEAS-NVE’s mission to be the responsible pioneer who ensures energy and fibre grid for its members.

By responsible we think of responsibility towards our members and customers, the environment, the region, our employees and not least our assets.

By pioneer we mean the ability and will to secure our members future technologies - in time, so that SEAS-NVE actively contributes to the development opportunities of the region.

For the responsible pioneer, it’s essential to create a balance between financial prudence and forward-looking innovation.

We call our management philosophy – Pathfinder – and we constantly work to make our managers responsible leaders via our management programme, Responsible Leadership.

 

About The OSGP Alliance

 

The OSGP Alliance, founded in 2006 as the Energy Services Network Association (ESNA), is an independent global, not-for-profit association that promotes the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) and related services and infrastructure for smart grid applications. Members include utilities, software, hardware and service providers, and solution integrators that share a common goal and vision for promoting open standards for energy demand side management, smart grid and smart metering systems. More information about the OSGP Alliance can be found at www.osgp.org.