Multi-million dollar deals. Brokers fighting for power. High stakes
requiring the highest levels of security. A world where power truly
is money.
Welcome to the California Independent System Operator (California-ISO),
the New York Stock Exchange of power management and sales. This is a
place that sees more than US $7 billion of electrical energy traded
and routed annually. A place where buyers and sellers of power compete
fiercely against each other to gain transmission rights across the state
of California. And a place where power management is a matter of life
and death, protecting everything from hospital equipment to home security
systems.
California-ISO is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation charged
with managing the state's power transmission grid and overseeing power
sales. High-level security across the organization's operations isn't
only critical, it's non-negotiable. Fraudulent transactions could wreak
financial havoc, leaks about expected bids would offer unfair advantages
to brokers with insider information, and any security breach in the
transmission of power could have life-threatening consequences.
With a scenario that would compare to "Mission Impossible,"
the independent power entity found itself facing these daunting security
challenges when it was created by the state legislature after Californians
voted in a new, free market for power. At the same time, California-ISO
had to promote increased industry competition by opening power auctions
to greater numbers of buyers and sellers - without compromising security
or incurring high operational costs. An impossible mission? Not with
SPYRUS' bag of high-security e-business tricks.
Powering up security
SPYRUS, a leading Internet ID company for secure e-business, stepped
in and solved the power organization's mission-critical security issues
in just four months. The security leader rapidly deployed its Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) system solution, a comprehensive, high-assurance
e-business infrastructure. With the SPYRUS PKI, California-ISO was able
to leverage the Internet to streamline business processes while eliminating
security risks. In fact, SPYRUS saved the power entity more than $1
million and 10 years in deployment time.
"Our mission is to be the one-stop shop for e-business security,"
explained Sue Pontius, SPYRUS President and CEO. "By enabling companies
to turn to a single vendor, we can quickly implement comprehensive,
highly secure systems based on a variety of tightly integrated components
that act as the foundation for secure e-commerce applications."
Tapping the power of the Internet
Today's e-business environment promises more efficient communications,
lower networking costs, and increased system simplicity - while also
holding the threat of sophisticated, security-breaching hackers.
With SPYRUS, California-ISO was able to implement a high-capacity,
streamlined Internet system capable of interconnecting thousands of
sites and utility generators from Canada through Mexico. The SPYRUS
PKI system solved all of the power agency's top-level security concerns
while enabling it to reap the extensive benefits of e-business:
- Online power auctions offer cost-savings while supporting unlimited
competition. Power brokers now log in to online auctions using software
certificates. Their browser software simply utilizes certificates
issued by the SPYRUS PKI to assure the trader's access rights and
to authorize transactions.
- Online meter access eases third-party communications. Third parties
can use SPYRUS-made Rosetta smart cards to read meters online, staying
abreast of kilowatts supplied to customers. They just insert their
Rosetta card into their Rosetta smart card reader, providing medium-assurance
authorization through a unique digital certificate issued by the SPYRUS
PKI.
- Online dispatching of power generation streamlines operations. High-assurance
LYNKS Privacy Cards support tamper-proof and efficient power generation
across California, with remote generators located statewide.
- Online invoicing provides a speedy, secure way to submit invoices.
- Online problem management supports quick, efficient problem resolution.
A new highlight is using the highly-secure Internet access to power
auctions for an unlimited number of participants in the new free market,
maximizing the competitive bid process to better serve consumers.
Another important capability is the system's ability to actually pinpoint
demand in any given place and time, with the smart cards enabling third
party providers to meter exact usage and demand in a real-time environment
- thus managing power to suit particular weather conditions, such as
the massive summer heat waves in recent weeks.
"Mission Impossible" becomes "Mission Profitable"
The single-vendor SPYRUS solution saved California-ISO more than US
$1 million through its rapid implementation and by using just the right
level of security for each required task. California-ISO will also gain
extensive, additional cost-savings due to its shift from expensive dedicated
leased lines to the Internet. Instead of facing an impossible mission,
the power agency now has a highly secure e-business infrastructure ready
to take on the challenges of the future.