Wärtsilä receives first in the industry IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Certification for its GEMS hybrid energy storage technology

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Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release, 27 February 2020 at 2 pm EET

The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded cyber security certifications for the GEMS Power Plant Controller (PPC) by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Third-party technical expert attestation of the safety and security of Wärtsilä’s proprietary GEMS energy management software solution is a key differentiator in the industry. The IEC 62443 certification validates that GEMS has the key components in place to ensure secure operations, and it demonstrates Wärtsilä’s commitment to developing cyber secure products in support of critical infrastructure and operations. Wärtsilä is the first manufacturer to have a hybrid power plant certified in the energy industry.

The system-level certification is a global standard for critical devices. The certification validates both process and product by enhancing both the Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) and PPC by incorporating the IEC standards.

The IEC 62443 series of standards and technical reports defines procedures for implementing electronically secure systems from many different industries. This certification is specifically for Industrial Control and Automation Systems (IACS) and is focused on the cyber security protections and inherent security of the certified device and development process. Wärtsilä attained two IEC levels: 62443 4-1 (SDL) at the Maturity Level 2 and 62442 4-2 (Device) certification for the PPC at the Security Level 1.

Wärtsilä achieved the certification after a rigorous multi-month assessment from exida, the certifying organisation and world leader in automation cyber security. The certification process included detailed analysis of engineering procedures to determine systematic capability and cyber security strength, documentation review, product design and device validation testing to show cyber security protection. The Energy Storage and Optimisation business line at Wärtsilä employed their mature Agile software development methodology to quickly implement requirements identified by both IEC standards and exida.

“We are pleased to be the first manufacturer in the industry to conform to IEC 62443. As power systems grow ever more complex, solutions are needed to optimise and manage this intricacy in a safe, secure and reliable manner. We are validating to customers the importance that cyber security is taking in our products and processes. Wärtsilä continues to lead the industry with this certification,” states Andrew Tang, Vice President, Energy Storage & Optimisation, Wärtsilä Energy Business.

GEMS, a proprietary energy management platform, enables customers to remotely monitor individual power generation assets or entire fleets, identifying and diagnosing equipment issues in real time to mitigate grid issues. The PPC is a key component of the GEMS product offering, used globally for generation asset control, intelligent operations, monitoring, protection and data collection. As a sophisticated software platform optimising entire asset portfolios, the cyber security of the GEMS product is extremely important.

Access the exida Security Automation list here.

Read more about Wärtsilä energy storage solutions.

For more information, please contact:

Sen Zhang
Director of Software Engineering
Energy Storage & Optimisation
Wärtsilä Energy Business
Tel. +1 703 472 1624
sen.zhang@wartsila.com

Mirja-Maija Santala
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Wärtsilä Energy Business
Mob: +358 400 793 827
mirja-maija.santala@wartsila.com

Wärtsilä Energy Business in brief
Wärtsilä Energy Business leads the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. We help our customers unlock the value of the energy transition by optimising their energy systems and future-proofing their assets. Our offering comprises flexible power plants, energy management systems, and storage, as well as lifecycle services that ensure increased efficiency and guaranteed performance. Wärtsilä has 72 GW of installed power plant capacity in 180 countries around the world.
https://www.wartsila.com/energy/

Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2019, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com

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