Securing the Smart Grid Decision Zone

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A  business  process  or  business  method  is  a  collec+on  of  related,  structured  ac+vi+es   or  tasks  (events)  that  produce  a  specific  service  or  product  (serve  a  par+cular  goal)   for  a  par+cular  customer  or  customers.       Business  processes  comprise  a  set  of  sequen+al  sub-­‐processes  or  tasks,  with   alterna+ve  paths  depending  on  certain  condi+ons  as  applicable,  performed  to   achieve  a  given  objec+ve  or  produce  given  outputs.  Each  process  has  one  or  more   needed  inputs.  The  inputs  and  outputs  may  be  received  from,  or  sent  to  other   business  processes,  other  organiza+onal  units,  or  internal  or  external  stakeholders.   Business  processes  are  designed  to  be  operated  by  one  or  more  business  func+onal   units,  and  emphasize  the  importance  of  the  “process  chain”  rather  than  the   individual  units.     In  general,  the  various  tasks  of  a  business  process  can  be  performed  in  one  of  two   ways  –  1)  manually  and  2)  by  means  of  business  data  processing  systems  such  as  ERP   or  BPM  systems.  Typically,  some  process  tasks  will  be  manual,  while  some  will  be   computer-­‐based,  and  these  tasks  may  be  sequenced  in  many  ways.  In  other  words,   the  data  and  informa+on  that  are  being  handled  through  the  process  may  pass   through  manual  or  computer  tasks  in  any  given  order.  It  is  for  this  reason,  that  tasks   or  sub-­‐processes  (events)  must  be  audited  to  ensure  that  objec+ves  will  be  met.            

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 .   Business  Process  Audit  System       Simply,  a  business  process  audit  system  uses  the  documented  business  process  or   method  to  check  if  the  input  event  causa+on  history  conforms,  prior  to  an  input   event,  triggering  downstream  systems.  If  the  input  events  go  unchecked  or   unaudited,  events  arising  from  external  or  internal  cyber  intruders  or  fraudsters  will   cause  downstream  systems  to  trigger,  thereby  compromising  the  business.   Addi+onally,  unchecked  or  unaudited  input  events  can  cause  opera+ons  risk,  privacy   and  compliance  issues.       The  business  process  audit  system  prevents  against  the  misuse  of  company’s  systems   by  blocking  input  anomalous  event  or  events  that  can  trigger  systems.    The  business   process  audit  system  checking  mechanism  is  flawless,  where  the  events  not  following   the  documented  business  process  or  method  are  blocked  and  flagged.  As  explained   in  the  introduc+on,  the  business  process  or  method  are  used  to  define  the  sequence   of  events  and  their  condi+ons  to  carry  out  ac+vi+es  and  tasks  to  achieve  end   objec+ves.  By  u+lizing  the  documented  business  process  or  method,  the  business   process  audit  system  checking  mechanism  no  longer  requires  pre-­‐defined  misuse   event  paSerns  or  data  rules.      

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Each  event  from  external  systems  is  checked  against  the  process  defini+on  to  ensure   the  audited  input  event  causa+on  history  is  in  compliance,  prior  to  triggering   downstream  systems.  Decision-­‐Zone  has  obtained  a  patent  for  methods  and  systems   that  can  generically  secure  the  enterprise  infrastructure  systems  from  both  inside   and  outside  threats  (ac+vi+es  or  events)  by  audi+ng  each  input  event  or  ac+vity  using   the  process  maps  defined  by  the  business.  Those  ac+vi+es  not  in  compliance  with  the   process  map;  including  cyber  intruder  ac+vi+es,  fraud  ac+vi+es  or  opera+ons  error   ac+vi+es  will  be  blocked  and  command  and  control  no+fied.     The  business  process  audit  system  and  methodology  has  been  patented  by  Decision-­‐ Zone  (US  7908160).  The  end  user  experience  is  simple  and  intui+ve,  powered  by   so]ware  technology  that  can  audit  business  process  graphs  directly  to  detect  input   events  for  non-­‐conformance.       The  business  process  audit  system  enables  organiza+ons  to  achieve  live  informa+on   management  capability  for  protec+ng,  controlling,  op+mizing,  improving  and  re-­‐ designing  their  business  processes  for  maximizing  customer  experience  and   shareholder  value.    With  non-­‐live  informa+on  management  system;  the  ability  to   perform  these  tasks  is  complex  and  at  best  predic+ve  requiring  countless  systems   and  resources.           3  

The  chart  below  was  prepared  by  IBM  FISCD  LABS  compares  live  informa+on   management  system  (Decision-­‐Zone  porcolio)  with  a  non-­‐live  informa+on   management  system  (IBM-­‐SWG  Porcolio).  The  IBM  products  are  more  suited  for   system  device  level  security  not  Total  Smart  Grid  Level  Security.      

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 Current  IPS  &  IDS  Solu+ons  u+lize  Systems  Data  for  Only  Device  Level  security  not   the  total  grid  level  security!            

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