The International Society of Automation announced July 28 that Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has joined its ISASecure subsidiary, which is the globally recognized certification program that validates conformance with ISA/IEC 62443 cybersecurity standards for industrial automation and control systems (IACS).

Also known as the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, ICE was founded in 1949 to employ the nation’s water resources for efficient and responsible electrification. It’s a Costa Rican state company, so its mission is providing citizens with energy, connectivity, and safe and sustainable digital services. The institute’s electrical system takes advantage of alternative energy sources, and it also focuses on developing smart grids and electric transportation. ICE’s partnership with ISASecure further reflects its mission of strengthening and maturing the security of operations technology (OT) in Costa Rica’s energy system, and ensuring that its OT cybersecurity procedures are continually maintained at the highest standards.

Erick Obregón Navarro, cybersecurity and enterprise protection director at ICE, reports that joining ISASecure and adopting ISA/IEC 62443 enables it to implement several cybersecurity capabilities, such as:

• Protecting industrial networks and SCADA systems,
• Defining security levels and layered control approaches,
• Network segmentation and reducing attack surfaces,
• Securely managing access and industrial components, and
• Continuous monitoring and incident response.

“We look forward to our partnership with ISASecure to ensure our energy systems and Costa Rican residents are protected from cybersecurity attacks,” says Navarro.

“It’s an honor to welcome the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity—and our first Costa Rican company—to ISASecure,” says Mark DeAngelo, ISASecure’s program manager. “Today’s critical infrastructure demands comprehensive, rigorously validated cybersecurity. We look forward to collaborating with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad as we advance our mission of industry partnership, certification and standards-based product development to help achieve a more secure world.”