Low-Cost, Plug-and-Play Data Diodes for Solar Equipment Cybersecurity

Solar energy operators need real­time situational awareness and the insight of advanced analytics to compete in the energy marketplace. These benefits require increased connectivity, but the threat of distributed cyberattack on control systems is exacerbated by the limited number of vendors supplying millions of solar devices. Firewalls and software­based security are inherently vulnerable to attack, particularly in the age of botnets, unlimited computing power, and artificial intelligence. Secure equipment monitoring can be provided by data diodes (unidirectional gateways), but today’s diodes require extensive on­site network configuration and can cost in excess of $100,000 per device. Fend will bring the unhackable, physically­enforced security of data diodes to the solar equipment market through simpler, lower cost hardware capable of automatic configuration. Fend’s Data Valve converts data into light for one­way transmission, allowing for both equipment monitoring and complete isolation from cyberattack. Fend’s will reduce costs by up to 99% with plug­and­play hardware that can be installed by anyone trusted to service solar equipment. Fend’s optional cloud­based analytics platform allows for real­time equipment monitoring and predictive analytics to reduce unexpected equipment downtime. Fend provides the fastest and most cost effective way to secure new solar installations and protect gigawatts of existing capacity.Objectives for Phase I are: (1) Significantly reduce costs of data diode protection through right­sizing of componentry for the solar energy market; (2) Enable automatic, plug­and­play installation by technicians and remove the need for manual network configuration by network engineers; and (3) Make real­time grid state monitoring and data analytics more accessible to solar generation operators. Though this Phase I SBIR project, Fend will adapt its technology for the solar energy market by refining the hardware design and expanding the capabilities of the Data Valve’s on­board software. The result of Phase I will be a device that can automatically connect to one type of solar energy equipment and transmit data to the desired network location while completely protecting that equipment from malicious network traffic. Through Phase II and beyond, automatic protocol switching will allow the Data Valve to serve multiple equipment types and expansion into the protection of fossil energy and nuclear plants, critical building systems, and water utilities. Commercial success provides these benefits: (1) Enhanced security for the US electric industry; (2) Improved grid resilience through secure, real­time availability of equipment status; (3) Increased operational efficiency through operational awareness and early fault detection; and (4) US­based manufacturing and software development jobs.