SEL-3620 Automates Ethernet Security Gateway Password and Account Management

Sept. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- PULLMAN, WA — Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) today announced enhancements to the SEL-3620 Ethernet Security Gateway, SEL’s firewall and access control solution for substations and industrial environments.

The upgrade adds centralized, user-based access controls to serial intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), Ethernet IEDs, and critical protection devices downstream of the SEL-3620, and does so without disturbing existing configurations or requiring infrastructure upgrades. It generates complex passwords and adds automatic password management that supports regular IED password changes on a user-configurable schedule or on a triggered basis.

Because the SEL-3620 is device-aware, it knows all accounts and password requirements for each protected IED. The SEL-3620 generates audit reports that detail password changes and user actions, including every command a user sends to any device. Now users can add centralized user-based account access controls and obtain detailed user activity reports on critical protection devices without costly firmware upgrades or product replacements.

The SEL-3620 authenticates any incoming connection to a specific user, then transparently allows connections to any device the user is authorized to access. Once authenticated to an organization’s centralized account infrastructure, the user only needs to log in once and no longer has to know the IED passwords. The SEL-3620 proxies their connection to the downstream IED, while time-stamping and logging each action for accountability purposes (AAA proxy).

The SEL-3620 is available now for only $3,300, and the enhancements are free for any SEL-3620 already owned. Automatic password management and proxy services are included in the base price. The SEL-3620 supports NERC CIP requirements for regular IED and relay password changes and complex password enforcement, and is ideally suited for engineering access applications. For more information on the SEL-3620 or other SEL cybersecurity solutions, visit www.selinc.com/p135.

SEL serves the power industry worldwide through the design, manufacture, supply, and support of products and services for power system protection, monitoring, control, automation, and metering. SEL offers unmatched local technical support, a worldwide, ten-year product warranty, and a commitment to making electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.

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SEL designs, manufactures, and supports a complete line of products and services for the protection, monitoring, control, automation, and metering of electric power systems. Our solutions range from comprehensive generator and transmission protection to distribution automation and control systems. The SEL Government Services Division is dedicated to the security, safety, and reliability of electric power at facilities ranging from military base power systems to ships, while our Engineering Services team provides engineering capabilities and system solutions to national and international customers. SEL University provides training and programs that help our customers meet the technical challenges and complexities of integrating digitally-based technologies into the expanding power system infrastructure. Our mission is simple—make electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.