Trust in smart energy enhanced with end-to-end security solution

Today's smart grids have become comprehensive IoT networks with millions of connected meters that share real time data about people, businesses and energy consumption. The insight they provide enables consumers to save on energy bills and utilities and energy players to better balance supply and demand. It is also crucial information to help integrate renewable energy sources, helping to improve sustainability. As the marketplace and number of connections continues to expand, so does the cyber attack surface. The motivations for hacking this critical infrastructure are high and diverse: energy consumption fraud, insight into households' activity and absence, grid instability, pressure on governments, ID theft.

The Gemalto cyber security solution for electric utilities establishes a foundation of trust by establishing end-to-end security between energy meters, data concentrators and energy companies' back-end systems. IoT connectivity modules ensure 24/7 data availability. A digital identity system is implemented at the manufacturing stage to ensure devices and applications can authenticate themselves, proving their legitimacy to access sensitive data. Encryption technology safeguards against data tampering and strong security lifecycle management enables remote security and data access updates, without costly truck rolls.

Guillaume Lafaix, Senior Vice President Mobile Services and IoT, Gemalto stated: "The smart energy ecosystem is one of the most advanced in terms of security requirements because of the potentially disastrous consequences of malicious hacking. The Gemalto cybersecurity solution for Utilities ensures the integrity and confidentiality of smart meter data while defending against hacking and emerging threats that are typical to this business."