Conference SGTech Europe 2015: a look from Russia
The Smart Grid Technical Forum (SGTech Europe) conference was held in Amsterdam from September 22 to 24, 2015.
SGTech Europe is an annual conference that gathers representatives of the largest European grid companies, dispatch control operators, consultants and manufacturers of solutions in the field of substation automation, telecommunications and information security.
The format of the conference provided for three working days:
In parallel with the conference, an exhibition was held in the lobby, there were about 15 booths where leading suppliers of solutions on the topics discussed at the conference were presented, including Schneider Electric, Siemens, Landis + Gyr, Advantech, Sae-IT, Locomation, Satel, Netcontrol, Security Matters, Subnet, Alstom and others.
Now directly about the conference itself. A special feature of the event was the presence of mainly OT specialists, that is, technologists who use the functionality of SCADA and ICS systems and their management, as well as information security managers of major European energy companies, including EDF, ERDF, EDP, RWE, Alliander, Ibedrolla, Vattenfall, National Grid, TenneT, Swissgrid, Union Fenosa, CEPS and others. There was an opportunity to listen to potential potential customers, to understand their problems and relevant issues for them. The start of the conference immediately set the main directions around which all subsequent discussions were built:
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1. The limits of the development of the Smart Grid, yes, yes, we still only think what it is and how to develop it, and one of the owners of Alliander says that the Smart Grid cannot solve all the problems by itself and cites the example of Amsterdam and cyclists, yes, almost the entire city can be transplanted into bicycles, but children go to school at the same time, and the width of bicycle lanes is limited, and you will get stuck in a traffic jam, only now by bicycle. Yes, the city has benefited from reducing the number of cars and reducing the content of harmful impurities in the air, but the consumer is again in a traffic jam and in bad weather, is experiencing much greater inconvenience than even the cheapest car. Conclusion, the development of one even the most promising areas will not lead to a result, if it is not part of a comprehensive program providing for the transition to new business processes. Hence a few new terms:
• Smart Site - in Russian, the closest within the meaning of "Smart system of relations in the energy sector";
• IT Digital Grid - integrated IT solutions that ensure the functioning of the network itself, as well as work with consumers, allowing to receive, analyze and use, including feedback from customers, service companies and suppliers of equipment and services.
2. The market has clearly formed the trend of merging IT, OT and Telecom in the electric power industry. A number of companies are creating joint units and are actively trying to form a process of sharing knowledge between these groups of specialists.
3. The transition to service models of customer service, how and when this transition will take place is not yet clear, but for large energy holdings it seems to be a matter of survival in the near future.
4. Issues of information security are no longer something distant and incomprehensible, like a horror film viewed in childhood. The first persons of the largest energy companies in Europe are confident that today information security has become a top priority and the development of their companies is directly dependent on the level of forethought and the quality of solutions in this area. At the same time, an objective assessment shows that if you divide all IT processes in a company into three parts:
1. Mission Critical;
2. Business Critical;
3. Business Efficiency
then the companies themselves often primarily focus on information security in paragraphs. 2-3, and paragraph 1 should be ensured by the requirements of regulators, since this is primarily the protection of the interests of the population. As an example, they brought a burger who, coming from work, wants to watch TV and drink cold beer, and does not suit him to pay extra for the fact that someone has implemented something from global interests.
I participated in the section “Integration of SCADA and Business Networks”. The architecture of the construction of SCADA of the largest European trunk and distribution companies was presented. The difference in the maturity of the architectures of western and eastern European countries is clearly visible. TenneT has already moved to work on the Common Information Model (CIM) standard, and SEPC has built two independent parallel systems with double data entry. These are extreme points, the rest presented combinations of functions, but in general, the vector of development is clear and it is the same regardless of the country or continent. Integration with business networks is common for everyone, and they already recognize this (important 5 years ago, this was unrealistic). As strange as the main problem for the integration of information security solutions, the SCADA systems themselves, having the facility management functionality at any level of management, including headquarters, create a false appearance of the need for advanced management functionality, although if we proceed from operating instructions and safety requirements , such operations are permissible only at the facility itself (including in automatic mode) or at the nearest control point in whose zone of operational response This object is located.
The third day was devoted entirely to information security issues. The representative of the relatively new European organization European Network for Cyber ​​Security (ENCS, www.encs.eu ) opened the session, he spoke about the intensification of work in the direction of information security of critical infrastructures, since according to statistics, 80% of cyber crimes in modern Europe are committed in this area . Despite the different approaches to solving information security problems in different countries of the European Union, the task is to ensure the level of trust between decision makers and customers, as well as build a transparent European certification system similar to the current German system TUV.
The directors of information security of the largest energy concerns and global brands offering solutions in this area spoke. There were proposals to introduce in the European Union a counterpart of the American standard NERC, after its version 5.0 was approved in 2016.
In general, I want to note a very good format of the event. It so happened that I took part in succession in two conferences, one-day in Moscow - the BIS Summit (18.09), and this three-day conference in Amsterdam. Both used a similar format, a small number of stands, a rich program of speeches and round tables. Being in a closed room, the participants of such conferences communicate with each other a lot, receive information on solutions presented at the stands, and are fully immersed in the issues discussed. The main difference is that IT and IS specialists gathered at the BIS Summit, and technologists in Amsterdam. While these ecosystems are still quite distant from each other, it was therefore very interesting to listen to different points of view.
SGTech Europe is an annual conference that gathers representatives of the largest European grid companies, dispatch control operators, consultants and manufacturers of solutions in the field of substation automation, telecommunications and information security.
The format of the conference provided for three working days:
- First day - plenary session, work in three sections: automation of substations, integration of SCADA and business networks, telecom in the energy sector, round tables on topics.
- The second day - the results of discussions at round tables, the continuation of reports by sections.
- The third day was thematic (Smart Sec Europe 2015) and was entirely devoted to the issues of information security of critical infrastructures.
In parallel with the conference, an exhibition was held in the lobby, there were about 15 booths where leading suppliers of solutions on the topics discussed at the conference were presented, including Schneider Electric, Siemens, Landis + Gyr, Advantech, Sae-IT, Locomation, Satel, Netcontrol, Security Matters, Subnet, Alstom and others.
Now directly about the conference itself. A special feature of the event was the presence of mainly OT specialists, that is, technologists who use the functionality of SCADA and ICS systems and their management, as well as information security managers of major European energy companies, including EDF, ERDF, EDP, RWE, Alliander, Ibedrolla, Vattenfall, National Grid, TenneT, Swissgrid, Union Fenosa, CEPS and others. There was an opportunity to listen to potential potential customers, to understand their problems and relevant issues for them. The start of the conference immediately set the main directions around which all subsequent discussions were built:
')
1. The limits of the development of the Smart Grid, yes, yes, we still only think what it is and how to develop it, and one of the owners of Alliander says that the Smart Grid cannot solve all the problems by itself and cites the example of Amsterdam and cyclists, yes, almost the entire city can be transplanted into bicycles, but children go to school at the same time, and the width of bicycle lanes is limited, and you will get stuck in a traffic jam, only now by bicycle. Yes, the city has benefited from reducing the number of cars and reducing the content of harmful impurities in the air, but the consumer is again in a traffic jam and in bad weather, is experiencing much greater inconvenience than even the cheapest car. Conclusion, the development of one even the most promising areas will not lead to a result, if it is not part of a comprehensive program providing for the transition to new business processes. Hence a few new terms:
• Smart Site - in Russian, the closest within the meaning of "Smart system of relations in the energy sector";
• IT Digital Grid - integrated IT solutions that ensure the functioning of the network itself, as well as work with consumers, allowing to receive, analyze and use, including feedback from customers, service companies and suppliers of equipment and services.
2. The market has clearly formed the trend of merging IT, OT and Telecom in the electric power industry. A number of companies are creating joint units and are actively trying to form a process of sharing knowledge between these groups of specialists.
3. The transition to service models of customer service, how and when this transition will take place is not yet clear, but for large energy holdings it seems to be a matter of survival in the near future.
4. Issues of information security are no longer something distant and incomprehensible, like a horror film viewed in childhood. The first persons of the largest energy companies in Europe are confident that today information security has become a top priority and the development of their companies is directly dependent on the level of forethought and the quality of solutions in this area. At the same time, an objective assessment shows that if you divide all IT processes in a company into three parts:
1. Mission Critical;
2. Business Critical;
3. Business Efficiency
then the companies themselves often primarily focus on information security in paragraphs. 2-3, and paragraph 1 should be ensured by the requirements of regulators, since this is primarily the protection of the interests of the population. As an example, they brought a burger who, coming from work, wants to watch TV and drink cold beer, and does not suit him to pay extra for the fact that someone has implemented something from global interests.
I participated in the section “Integration of SCADA and Business Networks”. The architecture of the construction of SCADA of the largest European trunk and distribution companies was presented. The difference in the maturity of the architectures of western and eastern European countries is clearly visible. TenneT has already moved to work on the Common Information Model (CIM) standard, and SEPC has built two independent parallel systems with double data entry. These are extreme points, the rest presented combinations of functions, but in general, the vector of development is clear and it is the same regardless of the country or continent. Integration with business networks is common for everyone, and they already recognize this (important 5 years ago, this was unrealistic). As strange as the main problem for the integration of information security solutions, the SCADA systems themselves, having the facility management functionality at any level of management, including headquarters, create a false appearance of the need for advanced management functionality, although if we proceed from operating instructions and safety requirements , such operations are permissible only at the facility itself (including in automatic mode) or at the nearest control point in whose zone of operational response This object is located.
The third day was devoted entirely to information security issues. The representative of the relatively new European organization European Network for Cyber ​​Security (ENCS, www.encs.eu ) opened the session, he spoke about the intensification of work in the direction of information security of critical infrastructures, since according to statistics, 80% of cyber crimes in modern Europe are committed in this area . Despite the different approaches to solving information security problems in different countries of the European Union, the task is to ensure the level of trust between decision makers and customers, as well as build a transparent European certification system similar to the current German system TUV.
The directors of information security of the largest energy concerns and global brands offering solutions in this area spoke. There were proposals to introduce in the European Union a counterpart of the American standard NERC, after its version 5.0 was approved in 2016.
In general, I want to note a very good format of the event. It so happened that I took part in succession in two conferences, one-day in Moscow - the BIS Summit (18.09), and this three-day conference in Amsterdam. Both used a similar format, a small number of stands, a rich program of speeches and round tables. Being in a closed room, the participants of such conferences communicate with each other a lot, receive information on solutions presented at the stands, and are fully immersed in the issues discussed. The main difference is that IT and IS specialists gathered at the BIS Summit, and technologists in Amsterdam. While these ecosystems are still quite distant from each other, it was therefore very interesting to listen to different points of view.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/268443/
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