GE 889 Generator Protection System Security Overview

The following security features are available:

BASIC SECURITY

The basic security feature is present in the default offering of the 889 relay. The

889 introduces the notion of roles for different levels of authority. Roles are used as login

names with associated passwords stored on the device. The following roles are available

at present: Administrator, Operator, Factory and Observer, with a fixed permission

structure for each one. Note that the Factory role is not available for users, but strictly used

in the manufacturing process.

The 889 can still use the Setpoint access switch feature, but enabling the feature can be

done only by an Administrator. Setpoint access is controlled by a keyed switch to offer

some minimal notion of security.

CYBERSENTRY

The CyberSentry Embedded Security feature is a software option that provides advanced

security services. When the software option is purchased, the Basic Security is

automatically disabled.

CyberSentry provides security through the following features:

• An Authentication, Authorization, Accounting (AAA) Remote Authentication Dial-In

User Service (RADIUS) client that is centrally managed, enables user attribution, and

uses secure standards based strong cryptography for authentication and credential

protection.

• A Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) system that provides a permission model that

allows access to 889 device operations and configurations based on specific roles

and individual user accounts configured on the AAA server. At present the defined

roles are: Administrator, Operator and Observer.

• Strong encryption of all access and configuration network messages between the

EnerVista software and 889 devices using the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, the

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and 128-bit keys in Galois Counter Mode (GCM)

as specified in the U.S. National Security Agency Suite B extension for SSH and

approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FIPS-140-2

standards for cryptographic systems.

• Security event reporting through the Syslog protocol for supporting Security

Information Event Management (SIEM) systems for centralized cyber security

monitoring.

There are two types of authentication supported by CyberSentry that can be used to

access the 889 device:

• Device Authentication – in which case the authentication is performed on the

889 device itself, using the predefined roles as users (No RADIUS involvement).

– 889 authentication using local roles may be done either from the front panel or

through EnerVista.

• Server Authentication - in which case the authentication is done on a RADIUS server,

using individual user accounts defined on the server. When the user accounts are

created, they are assigned to one of the predefined roles recognized by the 889

– 889 authentication using RADIUS server may be done only through EnerVista.

FASTPATH: WiFi and USB do not currently support CyberSentry security. For this reason WiFi is

disabled by default if the CyberSentry option is purchased. WiFi can be enabled, but be

aware that doing so violates the security and compliance model that CyberSentry is

supposed to provide.

Enervista Viewpoint Monitor does not currently support CyberSentry security.

With the CyberSentry security option, many communication settings cannot be changed

remotely. All communication settings can still be changed through the relay front panel.