• Case Study

    Stern Energy

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The Client

Industry: Renewable Energy

Stern Energy is a specialist operator offering technical services for the construction, management, maintenance and revamping of photovoltaic systems. The company has been operating since 2008 and during that time, has built in-depth knowledge and experience in diagnosing and resolving complex problems and events.

A highly-qualified team takes care of every aspect of the life of a photovoltaic system and manages complex system portfolios in terms of volume, technology and distribution. Stern Energy serves all the main international players that produce renewable energy and companies undertaking a sustainable path by building their own photovoltaic system.

Stern Energy logo
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The Requirement

As an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) provider, Stern Energy works closely with its clients across Europe to ensure their solar farms are operating at full performance. Part of its remit includes a duty to act as their trusted advisor. This includes making them aware of potential weaknesses in the cyber security posture of their field-based assets.

With a growing focus on cyber security in the utility sector and the pending introduction of European directives such as NIS2, EMR collaborated with Stern Energy to act as their cyber security partner of choice. This involves the deployment of EMR’s UniCAS, a secure access solution specifically designed for renewable energy clients and their solar estates.

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Image of engineer at solar farm

The Solution

UniCAS is a unified, secure communications platform. It provides standardised control and secure access with an eye to NIS2 compliance. It allows asset managers to consolidate and control access for O&Ms, telecoms and data providers, CCTV providers and other third parties.

The solution is remotely configured at EMR’s Irish headquarters and involves setting appropriate firewall parameters and taking into account the number and nature of other devices on the network, e.g. number of CCTV cameras on site.

The ‘plug and play’ nature of the technology allows Stern Energy staff to easily deploy the device, as part of their routine, preventative maintenance work.

A full, managed service specifically designed to meet the requirements of critical national infrastructure providers alerts Stern Energy to outages, facilitating immediate escalation for swift resolution.

Maximum Network Uptime

Besides enhancing security posture, one of the many advantages of UniCAS is network visibility providing information on the root cause of outages. This is critical for Stern Energy as the company guarantees response times to clients.

“If we lose communications with a site, we also lose the possibility to operate the CCTV system,” explains Mr Muncivi. “And with that comes an increased risk of unauthorised access to the site. Similarly, without visibility of the systems monitoring our solar assets we are unable to assess operating performance.”

In both cases, EMR’s managed service alerts Stern Energy to communication failures or outages, allowing for their isolation and resolution in a speedy fashion.

Solution at a Glance

  • Network Deployment

    Configuration and commissioning of UniCAS devices, customised for each, individual solar farm

  • Security Policy

    Setting centralised security and access policy for each user type reducing risk of unauthorised access

  • Intrusion Prevention

    Automatic identification and blocking of exploits and advanced malware

  • Dashboard Reporting

    Reporting dashboard with a unified view of endpoint devices, providing tracking and awareness, compliance enforcement, and detailed analysis of endpoint activity and security events

  • Network Monitoring

    All equipment is fully supported and remotely managed by the EMR network monitoring service

  • True Partnership

    Liaison with Stern Energy on technical issues and close collaboration to ensure maximum network uptime

The Benefits

Stern Energy enjoys a host of benefits, encompassing enhanced security posture but also operational visibility and efficiency.  With centralised access control to field-based assets, security risk is considerably reduced and supports Stern’s NIS2 regulatory imperatives.

Greater operational control through network monitoring ensures maximum network uptime and communication outages can be immediately identified and escalated for swift resolution.  This boosts efficiencies and reduces cost associated with downtime.

“Working closely with EMR helps us to address cyber security weaknesses in our clients’ solar plants and keeps them compliant with industry regulations. The EMR team has a high level of competence around secure communications. We’re very happy with the results and keen to strengthen our service portfolio with their assistance.“

Andrea Muncivi, Managing Director, Stern Energy Ltd.

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Benefits at a Glance

  • Enhanced security posture

    Improves the security posture of solar assets with an eye to NIS2 compliance

  • Improved operational visibility

    Enhances operational visibility of field assets and mitigates the physical and digital risk to solar farms

  • Managed third party access

    Access by all third parties is managed thanks to pre-defined and centrally-controlled security policy

  • Enhanced operational visibility

    Operational efficiency enhanced thanks to remote configuration of devices and easy installation by Stern Energy staff

  • Maximum network uptime

    Ensures maximum network uptime thanks to real-time monitoring

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