Securing generation, transmission and distribution without risking supply.
Utility OT environments carry decades of legacy alongside new renewable and smart-grid assets, under growing regulatory pressure. We work to IEC 62443 and IEC 62351 across generation plants, substations and distribution networks — with control-room availability treated as the first constraint, not an afterthought.
- IEC 62443
- IACS security programme
- IEC 62351
- Power system comms
- IEC 61850
- Substation automation
Standards in scope
IEC 62443
Industrial automation and control systems security
IEC 62351
Power systems management — communication security
IEC 61850
Substation automation systems
Regulatory alignment
Sector cybersecurity guidelines and directives
The standards that shape a utility security programme.
IEC 62443 gives you the programme and the risk method; IEC 62351 addresses the power-specific protocols; regulatory guidelines set the floor. We align all three into a single set of controls rather than three parallel compliance exercises.
Industrial automation and control systems security
The backbone for utility OT security: the asset owner security programme (2-1), zone and conduit risk assessment (3-2), and system security requirements and levels (3-3).
How we support you
- Security programme (CSMS) design for the utility
- Zone and conduit model across plant and substation networks
- Risk assessment and target security level allocation
- Segmentation and industrial DMZ architecture
- Vendor and EPC contractor security requirements
- Maturity assessment and improvement roadmap
Power systems management — communication security
Security for power system communication protocols including IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5 and DNP3 — authentication, integrity and key management for substation and control-centre traffic.
How we support you
- Protocol-level security assessment
- Authentication and integrity control design
- Certificate and key management approach
- Substation communication hardening plan
- Vendor capability review against 62351 parts
- Migration plan for legacy protocol estates
Substation automation systems
The substation automation architecture cybersecurity has to work within — station and process bus, IEDs, protection relays and engineering tooling.
How we support you
- Substation architecture and asset inventory
- IED and protection relay hardening review
- Station and process bus segmentation
- Engineering access and configuration control
- Time synchronisation and redundancy considerations
- Commissioning-stage security verification
Sector cybersecurity guidelines and directives
National and sector cybersecurity expectations for power utilities, including CEA cybersecurity guidelines in India and NIS2 for European operations, mapped onto the technical programme.
How we support you
- Applicability analysis for your operating regions
- Clause mapping onto existing IEC 62443 evidence
- Governance, reporting and incident notification processes
- Audit readiness review
- Board-level reporting pack
- Gap closure plan with owners and timelines
Where we typically get involved.
The same seven services run across every practice, so you can compare scope without re-learning the menu.
Risk assessment
Structured risk assessment to identify what can actually go wrong, how likely it is, and what it would cost you.
Advisory & consulting
Strategy, governance and architecture guidance shaped around your operating model rather than a template.
VA-PT & security testing
Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, scoped so that testing never threatens availability.
Compliance & audit readiness
Gap analysis, evidence assembly and internal audit so the first challenge to your evidence is not the assessor's.
Implementation support
Turning designs into deployed controls — segmentation, hardening, access control and monitoring.
Security operations
Continuous monitoring, detection and incident response support suited to the environment's constraints.
Training & capability
Building internal capability so the programme keeps running after the engagement ends.
Typical engagements.
OT risk assessment
Site and fleet-level risk assessment across generation, transmission and distribution assets using IEC 62443-3-2 methodology.
Architecture & segmentation
Control centre, plant and substation segmentation, industrial DMZ design and secure remote access for vendors and maintenance teams.
Renewables & DER
Security review of solar and wind plant architectures, remote monitoring links and distributed energy resource integration.
Asset visibility
Passive OT asset discovery and monitoring deployment so the inventory reflects what is actually on the network, not what the drawings say.
Monitoring & response
OT monitoring integration and incident response procedures built around grid availability and switching constraints.
Audit & compliance support
Evidence preparation and support through regulator, auditor and internal assurance review.
Systems we work across
- Generation plant DCS and control systems
- Transmission and distribution SCADA
- Substation automation and protection relays
- Energy management and distribution management systems
- Solar and wind plant control and monitoring
- Metering and AMI infrastructure
- Control centres and backup control centres
- Vendor remote access and maintenance links
What you receive
- Utility OT asset inventory and network baseline
- Zone and conduit design with risk register
- Cybersecurity requirements for EPC and vendor contracts
- Protocol security assessment against IEC 62351
- Policy, procedure and security programme documentation
- Prioritised remediation roadmap with outage-aware sequencing
Building a utility OT security programme?
Tell us the assets in scope — plants, substations, control centres — and any regulatory milestone you are working to, and we'll propose a practical starting point.
