GE Renewable Energy says it has inked a cybersecurity agreement with clean energy provider Invenergy not only to secure Invenergy’s wind turbine fleet, but also to secure a framework to add more turbines to its network in the future.
According to the company, the cybersecurity deal, worth more than $13 million over 10 years, marks one of the largest in the history of the Industrial Internet.
Wurldtech, a GE Company, is focused on cybersecurity and protecting operational technology, as well as information technology. This agreement, GE says, includes upgrading Invenergy’s legacy controls; upgrading and protecting its network security with Wurldtech’s Opshield, a purpose-built security solution for industrial and process control environments; and software maintenance, updates and patches for the duration of the 10 years, provided by GE and Wurldtech.
“As online threats multiply and the electric grid goes digital, cybersecurity is a top priority for Invenergy,” says Jim Shield, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Invenergy. “We are proud of our collaboration with the GE Digital team to develop a long-term, enterprise-wide cybersecurity agreement that met our operational needs.”
GE Chief Digital Officer Sanjeev Addala adds, “This took a huge effort from our teams across all functions to get the deal across the line. We are looking forward to building on the success of supporting Invenergy’s fleet under contract and expanding it to other wind fleets.”
