Schneider Electric, as leader in energy and automation digital solutions collaborates in the H2020 SDN-microSENSE project. Schneider Electric is focusing its contribution on one of the six use cases: “EPES Cyber-defence against Coordinated Attacks”. The objective of the use case is to validate the SDN-microSENSE platform in an electrical substation scenario using coordinated cyberattacks.
Schneider Electric contributes to the use case with its substation devices. In particular, it provides its Remote Terminal Units (RTU). A remote terminal unit (RTU), controlled by a microprocessor, connects objects in the physical world to a distributed control system or SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system by transmitting telemetry data to a master system, and by using messages from the master supervisory system to control connected objects. A variety of protocols are used to communicate with RTUs. An RTU is a critical asset in the control system because it provides relevant information to the control center and it operates directly in the substation.
Schneider Electric contributes to the SDN-microSENSE project with the Easergy T300 and Saitel RTUs. Easergy T300 provides remote control and monitoring for energy distribution automation. It is a modular platform of hardware and firmware, and an application building block for Medium Voltage and Low Voltage public distribution network management. Saitel is a high-performance, versatile, scalable and compact platform for secure automation and communication applications. Saitel acts as a communication gateway, measurement center and automation processor. In the first eleven months of the project, Schneider
Electric has been working together with Estabanell, Tecnalia, IREC and AYESA, in the requirement and technical specification definition for the use
case. In addition, Schneider Electric has participated in the SDN-microSENSE requirements and architecture definition and it has started the development of
new security functionalities for its RTUs in order to protect them against cyberattacks.
As a result of the collaboration in SDN-microSENSE project, Schneider Electric will enhance the cybersecurity of its substation components, testing the developments in a realistic scenario and validating the solution in collaboration with cybersecurity experts and end-users of the project.