What will you find in the material?

A leading multinational company in the renewable energy generation segment consolidated its IT and OT network infrastructure with InternetSat using Fortinet® technology. Given the complexity of the business, we designed a robust, highly available solution that allowed us to quickly resolve the client's day-to-day operations, especially regarding technology and regulatory communication issues in the sector. Fortinet offered us greater stability and security in our network infrastructure, and improved quality and speed of automation processes and corporate networks.

Overview

Present in Northeast Brazil since 2018, the European power generation company focused on renewable energy targeted the Brazilian solar market due to its significant and long-term potential. Since then, the generator has been actively participating in the development of renewable energy projects in the country and has established partnerships with companies in the sector for solar development projects with combined capacities of 1GW.


Founded in 2007, the company operates in more than 27 countries and focuses on diversification, batteries, and energy transition to consolidate its leadership in the markets where it operates. In Brazil, its power plants are connected to the National Interconnected System (SIN) and are located in remote regions with low capillarity of technology and telecommunications infrastructure.

Capillarity

Due to the remote location of its operations, the company has always faced the challenge of ensuring robust connectivity and cybersecurity for its IT and OT operations, as well as controlling and managing its network infrastructure due to strong regulation by the National Electric System Operator (ONS), which is the body responsible for coordinating and controlling the operation of electricity generation and transmission facilities in the National Interconnected System (SIN) and for planning the operation of the country's isolated systems. The concession model defined by the ONS for dispatched substations and power plants considers communication with these as one of the most sensitive aspects of the operation.

Agility

Furthermore, the company lacked the tools to simultaneously apply advanced security policies to multiple devices at the same time, making troubleshooting a lengthy and tedious task. The team also lacked the agility needed to update and manage the network infrastructure.

#Cybersecurity

Impact on business

01

Centralization

Centralized network infrastructure and unified administration with a single

management platform;

02

Real-time

Comprehensive, real-time visibility into the operational network;

03

Productivity

Network stability and increased productivity in hard-to-reach locations;

04

Advanced security

Optimized security with

advanced protection solutions;

segregation of the IT (corporate) network and the OT (operations and supervision) network

Starting in 2023, the company began deploying the FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) in every new project it put into operation, with the goal of achieving a protected and unified network infrastructure.

 

By segmenting the network and providing essential security features such as content filtering and IPS (intrusion prevention system), FortiGate protects all data and servers, and ensures that 100% of the information collected at the plant is sent to the National Electric System Operator (ONS), such as SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) data, which measures the amount of energy generated by the plant. Secure filtering of data from the Operational Technology (OT) environment has also brought greater stability, reducing the rate of data packet loss due to the lack of information tracking.

 

With the Fortinet cybersecurity solution implemented by InternetSat, the client also resolved the issue of segregating the IT (corporate) network and the OT (operation and supervision) network of the power generation plant.


“Now we have isolated servers and protected environments, with a corporate network completely separate from the operation and supervision network. The OT equipment cannot be accessed via the Internet, as required by the Network Procedures and the ONS Cybersecurity Operational Routine, RO-CB-BR.01,” adds the company's IT Manager.

 

Today, the entire OT environment of the generator's photovoltaic plants, connected to the ONS (National System Operator) through MPLS channels provided by InternetSat, is managed with Fortinet solutions. This is a critical operation that needs to be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, given the criticality of the operation. This concern is justified, since it is through the secure transmission of data from the plant that regulatory bodies rely to dispatch and control the National Interconnected System 24 hours a day.

 

The corporate network providing public internet access and public telephony, supplied by InternetSat to all administrative and operational areas, is delivered via Fortinet – something that was not possible before the project. With these tools, the company now offers 100% network availability, a significant improvement compared to the past, when connectivity problems were frequent and constantly impacted operations and business.

DOWNLOAD CONTENT

Visibility and resources

  • 1. FortiManager

    The company was also looking for a tool to consolidate connectivity and network infrastructure management across all its units. InternetSat then decided to use FortiManager as an orchestrator for all Fortinet solutions. “We really needed complete infrastructure management. Fortinet allows us to have a unified environment that meets the operational needs of our client. With FortiManager, all firewalls in the IT and OT networks are managed and controlled with the same standard,” says Gilmar Souza, Sales and Marketing Manager at InternetSat. With FortiManager, the generator can now also see specific details such as network status, who is connecting, or even the connection level of a device in real time.

  • 2. FortiAnalyzer

    The power generator also added the FortiAnalyzer log management solution to its network infrastructure, a tool for analysis and report generation aimed at preventing external attacks. By having complete network visibility from a single point, the company reduced the time spent identifying problems by 90%, bringing together all network and security visibility in a single technology dashboard. With previous systems, the IT team did not know who was connected or what was being done on the network – which constantly put critical information and applications at risk.

  • 3. FortiClient

    InternetSat also ensured its employees, through FortiClient, secure access to remote locations, in both corporate and industrial environments. Furthermore, with the implementation of site-to-site VPN, the company was able to monitor the entire VPN network remotely in real time. Centralized network management increased the client's efficiency in troubleshooting. In the event of a problem, the IT team can quickly access any point on the network and immediately make the necessary adjustments, saving not only time but also travel costs and increasing the productivity and well-being of the IT team. In addition, the company can now manage access policies, software updates, and security rules for multiple devices from a single location.

  • 4. Fortinet Security Fabric

    By integrating the tool into the Fortinet Security Fabric platform, the client gained access to detailed reports that help them uncover potential threats and make centralized, real-time decisions, as well as manage all IT and OT data—a crucial application for meeting the ONS's Network and Cybersecurity Procedures.

  • 5. SOC (Security Operations Center)

    “With Fortinet, the reach in security, access control, orchestration, standardization, management, visibility, and network monitoring from our SOC (Security Operations Center) allowed us to advance and take our client's operations to the next level,” says Gilmar Souza, Sales and Marketing Manager at InternetSat.

quotesArtboard 1 copy 2

“The most important consideration that influenced our choice of Fortinet was that we can oversee the network infrastructure in a centralized way. Our team is better positioned to meet the unique network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and telecommunications needs of clients anywhere in Brazil, ensuring reliability for critical operations. We are pleased to serve as your exclusive technology partner, offering a unique and customized technology solution that will maximize our clients' operational efficiency.”

Gilmar Medeiros de Souza

Sales Manager at InternetSat

About Fortinet®

Fortinet is an American company specializing in network security equipment. It stands out as one of the leading companies in the development and marketing of cybersecurity software, products, and services: firewalls, antivirus, user device security, and intrusion prevention.

About the National System Operator (ONS)

The National Electric System Operator (ONS) is the body responsible for coordinating and controlling the operation of electricity generation and transmission facilities in the National Interconnected System (SIN) and for planning the operation of the country's isolated systems.

About InternetSat

InternetSat operates in the electricity sector as the ideal partner for integrating network technologies, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and telecommunications to connect power plants and substations with Remote Operation Centers (COS O&M), the National Electric System Operator (ONS), and the Chamber of Electric Energy Commercialization (CCEE). We offer solutions for SCADA Server Hosting, IT/OT Network Management, Cybersecurity, and Telecommunications for connecting data and voice from agents to regulatory bodies.

Where are we?

Alameda Rio Negro, 503 – 12th floor, Suite 1212 - Rio Negro Office Building – Alphaville, Postal Code: 06454-000 | Barueri (SP)

Follow us on social media.

Follow us on social media, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like, comment, and share.