2nd Annual Smart Grid Security Summit to highlight vulnerabilities & offer solutions to build secured system

• E. Dr. Rashid Alleem, Chairman of Sharjah Electricity & Water Board to present keynote on SEWA’s Smart Grid Vision
• Leading experts gather to throw the spotlight on security of Smart Grids through global case studies

Smart Grids are widely adopted by many countries in a move to become smarter cities, thereby improving the quality of power. However, due to the huge scale of these critical infrastructure and the data gathered by them, it is vital to address the security concerns of Smart Grids. In line with the current challenges to the security of Smart Grids, OSGP Alliance, the global non-profit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP), is poised to host the 2^nd Annual Smart Grid Security Summit, a security conference dedicated to utilities, regulators, ministries, consultants, researchers and vendors, on May 22, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai.

While understanding the current and future threat landscape for Smart Grids, the 2^nd Annual Smart Grid Security Summit will focus on approaches to mitigate these threats in an effective manner. A panel discussion by leading experts will present a few case studies from the field as examples of how to know the threats and address them. It will also provide deeper insights on the immediate need to conserve energy resources by switching to a system that supports rationalized consumption. 

Bo Danielsen, Chairman of the OSGP Alliance and the head of installation and metering at SEAS-NVE, said: “In a bid to transform to a non-oil-based economy, the Middle East is accelerating the process of the implementation of Smart Grids. The move will help them conserve non-renewable resources as it relies heavily on them for its daily energy needs. The deployment of Smart Grids brings forth the issue of security, which will be the core of the 2^nd Annual Smart Grid Security Summit. We are confident that the conference will be enlightening for the region’s stakeholders on the sustainable use of energy resources.”

The 2^nd annual Smart Grid Security Summit will kick off with a Keynote on the SEWA Smart Grid Vision by H.E. Dr. Rashid Alleem, Chairman of the Sharjah Electricity and Water Board. The agenda includes talks on ‘NES Patagonia Security: A Practical Perspective’ by Emil Gurevitch, NES; ‘Tauron: Utility Case Study’ by Marius Jurczyk, Tauron; ‘Emerging Cyber Threats and Counter Measures’ by Muhammed Adil Hayat Khan, Health Authority Abu Dhabi; ‘A Collaborative Approach to Grid Security: A Case Study of Utility, Vendor, Pentest Project’ by Bo Danielsen and Emil Gurevitch; and ‘Security Presentation’ by Wail Gadour, Oracle. The final session will be a Round Table Discussion moderated by Kip Gering from NES with the participation of Eng. Doreb Ibrahim from SEWA and speakers Danielsen, Gurevitch, Gadour, and Khan.

Networked Energy Services Corporations (NES), a global smart grid market leader and the developer of the industry-leading Patagonia Energy Applications Platform^TM (EAP), is the Platinum Sponsor of the 2^nd annual Smart Grid Security Summit.

About The Open Smart Grid Protocol

The Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) is a family of specifications published by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) used in conjunction with the ISO/IEC 14908 control networking standard for smart grid applications. OSGP is optimized to provide reliable and efficient delivery of command and control information for smart meters, direct load control modules, solar panels, gateways, and other smart grid devices. With over 5 million OSGP based smart meters and devices deployed worldwide it is one of the most widely used smart meter and smart grid device networking standards. 

About The OSGP Alliance

The OSGP Alliance, founded in 2006 as the Energy Services Network Association (ESNA), is an independent global, not-for-profit association that promotes the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) and related services and infrastructure for smart grid applications. Members include utilities, software, hardware and service providers, and solution integrators that share a common goal and vision for promoting open standards for energy demand side management, smart grid and smart metering systems. More information about the OSGP Alliance can be found at www.osgp.org.

About Networked Energy Services Corporation (NES)

Networked Energy Services Corporation is a global smart energy leader in the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into an energy control network, enabling utilities to provide their customers with a more efficient and reliable service, to protect their systems from current and emerging cybersecurity threats, and to offer innovative new services that enable active, intelligence use of energy. NES was formed as a result of the spinoff of Echelon Corporation’s Grid Modernization Division in October 2014. NES is headquartered in the US with R&D centers located in Silicon Valley, North Dakota and Poland, and sales offices throughout the world. NES’ smart grid technology is used in nearly 40 million smart meters and other smart end devices around the world. NES is a member of the OSGP Alliance, a global association of utilities and smart grid companies, which promotes the Open Smart Grid Protocol and cooperates to provide utilities greater value by enabling true, independently-certified, multi-vendor interoperability based upon open international specifications and standards. You can find out more information about NES, its Patagonia Energy Applications Platform^TM (including grid management software, distributed control nodes, and smart meters) and services at: www.networkedenergy.com.