Itron Releases OpenWay(R) Collection Engine with Enhanced Security Features
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., Feb 12, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today the release and initial shipments of an enhanced security version of its OpenWay Collection Engine that enables strong authentication and enhanced security for use in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) deployments.
While the current version of OpenWay software is fully compliant with security and encryption to meet industry and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C12.22 standards, the enhanced security version exceeds these requirements by providing industry leading security consistent with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) "Critical Cyber Asset" requirements, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) standards.
"The OpenWay architecture exceeds security requirements using proven industry algorithms to meet the networking demands for smart metering and the Smart Grid," said Kip Gering, senior product line manager for OpenWay. "Enhanced by our partnership with Certicom, our solution is capable of handling secure message traffic and key management for 10 million meters, while the OpenWay CENTRON(R) meter provides the computing power to process secured network messages in just milliseconds."
Based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), Itron is utilizing Certicom's AMI 7000(R) series of meter communication encryption and key management appliances in OpenWay to secure end-to-end network messages from the OpenWay Collection Engine down to end devices on the OpenWay system.
The security architecture inherent to OpenWay, combined with these enhanced signing and encryption capabilities, is designed to meet the two-way command and control needs for AMI and Smart Grid network platforms.
"Our customers are demanding a level of security that is currently not provided by anyone in this industry," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Itron North America. "With the release of our optional enhanced security version, Itron now offers unparalleled network and metering system security, further enhancing our energy management and measurement technologies as we work toward development of the Smart Grid."
About Itron:
Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries. Itron Inc. consists of Itron in North America and Actaris outside of North America. Our company is the world's leading provider of metering, data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our products include electricity, gas and water meters, data collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related software applications; as well as project management, installation, and consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.
SOURCE: Itron Inc.
Itron Inc.
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Deloris Duquette, 509-891-3523
deloris.duquette@itron.com
or
Communications and Marketing
Kim Papich, 509-891-3590
kim.papich@itron.com
or
For Certicom
John Callahan, 703-234-2357
jcallahan@certicom.com
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