In United Energy Company the system of providing Information Security of ASTU is created

The DialogNauka company at the beginning of December, 2017 announced completion of works on creation of the system of information security support (SISS) of the automated system of technology management (ASTM) in United Energy Company.

United Energy Company is engaged in development, operation and reconstruction of the electric networks belonging to the city. OEK provides transfer and electric power distribution, performs technology joining of consumers, conducts construction of the electric networks. SOIB ASTU is designed to solve problems of ensuring cyber security of technology processes of management of transfer and electric power distribution.

Project Tasks

Solving of tasks on creation of SOIB demanded development of the end-to-end system covering practically all ASTU levels since ensuring protection of data exchange and managing commands with end devices of telemechanics and finishing with organizational measures and processes of cybersecurity. Compliance to the leading and regulating documentation of the Russian Federation (including FSTEC Russia to order No. 31 of 3/14/2014) and focus on compliance to the international standards IEC 62443 was one of requirements (it is partially translated to an IEC of GOST P IEC 62443).

Project Progress

Creation and implementation of SOIB was performed in several stages:

• preproject inspection and audit,
• modeling and analysis of threats,
• development of requirements and design of SOIB,
• project solutions,
• implementation and commissioning,
• trial operation and further development.

The project on creation of SOIB included many solutions and technologies — as "usual" (in the context of cybersecurity of corporate systems), and specialized means of protecting for industrial segments. When choosing solutions, in addition to functionality and compliance to requirements, also such criteria as an opportunity for work in the mode of high availability, compliance to requirements of operating conditions (electromagnetic compatibility, noise immunity, protection against climatic influences, etc.), loads of computing powers, possibilities of monitoring of the used industry protocols, protection against failures, etc. were considered.

Thanks to the used solutions the distributed ASTU computer network was segmented and separated into safety zones without significant changes in routing of traffic and network addressing. So, the connections to resources of the adjacent organizations necessary for implementation technology and business processes, were protected by means of firewalling, critical services (management of high-voltage networks and control of distribution networks) were taken out in separate segments. For the analysis of the network traffic transferred between safety zones use of an intrusion detection system is provided. For ensuring protection of end devices, an automated workplace and the ASTU servers specialized solutions of Kaspersky Lab of Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity for Networks and Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity for Nodes are used. The solutions applied to protection of the program logic controllers placed in distribution transformer substations of OEK were specially created and tested within joint work of DialogNauka and the developer of the APCS systems — DEP companies.

Project Results

Results of the carried-out works allowed to create the system of information security support providing end-to-end protection — from the controller on transformer substation to command center networks. The carried-out works completely correspond to the recommendations of international standards and the Russian regulatory requirements about security of information including put in federal law No. 187-FZ "About security of critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation" which was adopted 7/26/2017. The created SOIB raised the security level ASTA OEK from external and internal security risks, and further, as expected, will allow to consider changes in regulating documents and to provide adequate protection against new types of threats.