HP to Offer Smart Grid Security Services

Summary: Hewlett-Packard has announced the formation of HP Smart Grid Security Quality Assessment (SGSQA), a service designed to provide security auditing for utilities and Smart Grid operators.  The service, which was announced at HP's Executive Energy Conference 2009 in Budapest, was developed from internal security methodology that HP has used for 6 years to test its own hardware and software in areas such as defense.  Consequently, HP considers the service to be mature and reliable.

Quick Take: All of the major IT vendors who are moving full speed into Smart Grid — and there are many of them — seem to be targeting security as their key value add. Sounds like a collision in the making.

More information: According to a report in eWeek, HP’s move is a response to recent reports of successfully hacked smart meters and other Smart Grid systems. Earlier in the year, security consultants were able to devise a worm that could travel on the wireless signal between meters, infecting and disabling them.

HP will be putting the new service through its paces at three utilities on a trial basis.  The utilities were not named, but two are in the U.S. and one in Europe.

The security audit typically takes a couple of weeks to conduct and does not require new software development or coding. "There are no overheads in terms of a special lab and this really doesn't expand the time-frame of the smart grid roll-out," said Ian Mitton, worldwide director of utilities at HP in the eWeek report. "This is mostly a desktop exercise but we look at processes inside and out."

"You have to get security right the first time," said Mitton. "You cannot afford to go back – it will cost the same as the first time if retrofit."

Details were disclosed at HP’s ninth Executive Energy Conference, held on  September 28 and 29 in Budapest, Hungary

   eWeek report