Končar’s digital solution ranks first in the world for security

The German certification company TÜV NORD has awarded KONČAR – Digital a certificate of compliance with the requirements of the latest international standards for cybersecurity in critical infrastructure management systems. This makes KONČAR’s PROZA Station the first SCADA solution in the world compliant with the international cybersecurity standard IEC 62351. The certificate was presented to the president and member of the Management Board of KONČAR – Digital, Goran Leci and Stjepan Sučić, by the German ambassador Christian Hellbach, and the ceremony was attended by the CEO of KONČAR Gordan Kolak, as well as the deputy ambassador Harald Seibel and Đuro Tunjić, director of TÜV NORD Adriatic.

In his opening address, Ambassador Hellbach emphasized that the strength of the German economy lies in innovation and rapid adaptation to change.

– We are witnessing the transformation of the German economy towards carbon neutrality, which opens up great opportunities for companies like KONČAR and for Croatia as a potential exporter of green energy – concluded Hellbach.

The IEC 62351 standard plays a key role in the field of cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, primarily because it defines the requirements for ensuring confidentiality, integrity protection, and authentication of communication aimed at protecting remote control systems. “In order to adequately respond to the intense digital transformation and green energy transition across Europe, KONČAR’s strategic focus has been for many years on digital solutions for monitoring and managing critical infrastructure. We plan to become the largest IT company in the wider region, and achieving this extremely important certificate represents a significant and prominent step towards realizing that goal. It is the result of intensive investments and striving for the highest standards of excellence,” said Gordan Kolak, CEO of KONČAR.

The first digital solution in the world with this certificate, KONČAR’s PROZA Station, is intended for cybersecurity management of transformer stations and other critical infrastructure systems such as access data centers.

– Protecting critical infrastructure and the requirements of international standards and upcoming European regulations, especially in the area of data and communication security in managing critical infrastructure itself, present increasing challenges that only a few systems can handle. The successful certification of one of the most demanding standards in the field of industrial systems security demonstrates KONČAR’s strong focus on quality, safety, and best global practices, and it was an honor and pleasure to be part of that process – stated Đuro Tunjić, director of TÜV NORD Adriatic.

An important feature of this solution is the possibility of application in a private cloud using Docker containers. This achieves greater efficiency in the implementation and maintenance of data centers and allows for the introduction of additional digital redundancy aimed at increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure systems. Such a solution enables the rapid development of advanced energy networks through the application of digital management at distribution transformer stations of lower voltage levels.

– The cybersecurity of KONČAR’s digital solutions is in accordance with the EU directive NIS 2 and the provisions of the new Cybersecurity Act that is in preparation. This certificate also confirms the continuation of KONČAR’s tradition and focus on cybersecurity. The earlier generation SCADA platform PROZA NET was the first in the world to be certified under the very strict standard for cybersecurity of SCADA systems for industrial automation, ISA/IEC 62443, in 2019. The same certification process was later passed by other digital solutions of KONČAR: PROZA LKKU, a unique solution for converting communication protocols and data concentration for industrial automation, and PROZA Station, a new generation SCADA solution developed by KONČAR – Digital,” added Goran Leci, CEO of KONČAR – Digital.

KONČAR – Digital is a company of the KONČAR Group that develops and implements its own products, solutions, and services in the field of energy, critical, and urban infrastructure. Projects that digitalize systems are the result of 40 years of KONČAR’s experience in developing industrial software used for monitoring, managing, and optimizing infrastructure in the fields of electricity, e-mobility, data centers, transport, water supply, and other transmission, distribution, and urban infrastructure.