Secure data processing for smart grids and IoT Posted On 4 Aug 2021 By Abhishek Prabhakar Share The energy industry is in the middle of a global transformation, bringing data-driven energy efficiency and the implementation of decentralized architecture. Thanks in part to new smart grid technologies, utility companies are positioned to be one of the leading beneficiaries of this digital and data revolution. Smart grids allow utility companies to make smarter decisions. For example, advances such as data virtualization have enabled utilities to start unlocking the full potential of their data. This data comes in from an expanding variety of sources, including smart devices. Via data collection, secure data processing, and sharing utilities can understand their customers better and boost operational efficiency. This has the dual benefit of improving the user experience and overall profitability for the company. The growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices also presents utility companies an array of opportunities and challenges. As companies such as Google, Amazon, and most major electronics firms continue to enter the energy marketplace, innovation has soared and the market for devices has expanded. The potential for valuable data collection and secure data processing has also expanded. However, the decentralized nature of smart energy grids and IoT networks has created a massive security risk around the secure storage and sharing of data. Luckily, technologies already exist to mitigate potential data breaches caused by compromised devices. Other challenges include the ever-present pressures of a competitive business environment, regulatory and social demands, and the changing dynamics of electricity generation and sourcing. Ultimately, as David Maher noted in a recent article in Power magazine, “the full benefits of a smart grid will only be realized when grid stakeholders can share information among themselves.” The challenges in ensuring secure data processing Data collection, one of the pillars of smart grids, is a double-edged sword for utility companies. While on the one hand, it allows them to collect energy consumption and usage data—which helps them to adapt their models and improve user experience—it also creates significant risk in terms of how to securely transmit, store, and process that data. This threat to secure data processing is greatly increased by the tens of billions of new avenues of attack that have been created through the explosion of IoT devices. While the upsides to greater use of secure utility data are clear, so are the potential consequences of attacks by hackers, including: Data being stolen or manipulated Intellectual property theft Regulatory fines Lost revenue through pirated services or lack of consumer trust Misuse or theft of devices (such as being harnessed for use in botnets) Unauthorized account access The good news is, counter-measures to mitigate these threats exist. For example, a secure layer can sit over datasets in order to keep them safe from attack. Utility data virtualization and security As mentioned, data virtualization technologies have transformed the way utility companies store and process their data. Traditionally, data needed to be stored in data warehouses, either on-premises or in the cloud. The utility would have to make a huge initial investment or keep paying high ongoing fees for third-party storage. However, these data warehouses still required transport and curation in order for the data to be processed. This presented a particular problem for utility companies that deal with widely diversified data inputs from devices and sensors. By contrast and by design, data virtualization enables data to be collected into datasets to allow for processing wherever the data resides. As a result, this cuts out the need for transportation and removes one of the biggest attack surfaces for hackers. Additionally, introducing a data governance layer over these virtualized datasets allows for more fine-grained access control and data rights management. This secure data exchange platform is essential for ensuring regulatory compliance in terms of data privacy legislation such as GDPR, as well as empowering secure collaboration between numerous organizations with different relationships. IoT device management and secure data processing IoT devices have changed how individual consumers go about their daily lives and have revolutionized the way that many companies do business through supply-chain optimization and improved customer service. These advances rely on IoT devices being able to securely interact with each other and efficiently share data. This level of secure data processing can be achieved by creating trusted ecosystems and mutual authentication of devices. Device identity management works by provisioning individual devices with secure identities, either when they are created on the factory floor or are first installed. This identity then defines what kind of access the device has to the user’s ecosystem (e.g., to send usage data or to receive updates.) For utilities and businesses, security and control are essential, and effective identity and access management depends on the use of public key infrastructure. Intertrust provides industry-leading device security as part of the capabilities of the Intertrust Platform. It has already provisioned nearly 2 billion IoT devices with cryptographically secure identities that ensure a trusted connected ecosystem. This allows businesses to perform secure data processing and analysis, confident in the integrity of their connected devices and the information they generate. Data is protected throughout its journey, from edge to cloud. Conclusion As they continue to scale their operations, energy and utility companies must ensure that sensors, regulators, and other IoT devices can safely authenticate, communicate, and interact within evolving smart grid infrastructure. Secure data processing enables these companies to manage data operations around their mission-critical electrical grid data. With data virtualization, utilities can create secure datasets and share necessary data seamlessly with multiple stakeholders in the energy ecosystem in an agile process, using the best data security practices. To find out more about securing energy IoT devices using next-generation PKI, read our in-depth brief here. And if you’d like to do a deeper dive into the digital utility, download our recent white paper. Last, but not least, to learn how Intertrust Platform can help your organization with secure data processing, get in touch with our team. Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in December, 2020. It has been revised and updated. Share About Abhishek Prabhakar Abhishek Prabhakar is a Senior Manager ( Marketing Strategy and Product Planning ) at Intertrust Technologies Corporation, and is primarily involved in the global product marketing and planning function for The Intertrust Platform. He has extensive experience in the field of new age enterprise transformation technologies and is actively involved in market research and strategic partnerships in the field. Related blog posts BLOG Securing IoT data analytics Read more BLOG Nine use cases for IoT data analytics Read more BLOG Seven best practices for PKI deployments Read more PLATFORM Why Intertrust Platform Platform features Data Governance Secure Execution Environments Data Virtualization Time Series Database Audit Reporting Free trial APPLICATIONS CleanGrid energy data toolkit Planet OS climate data hub Powerboard dataops for renewables Intertrust PKI for IoT SOLUTIONS Data Catalog IoT Data Management Analytics Marketplace RESOURCES Resources White papers Webinars Case studies Briefs Product videos Infographics Datasheets Guides Blog Communities Line x Intertrust Summits Transforming Transformers The Innovator Series COMPANY About Intertrust News Careers Leadership team Contact us Upcoming events ExpressPlay Media Security Suite™ Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright © 2021 Intertrust Technologies Corporation. All rights reserved.