Case Study

How a Power Giant Transformed Remote Access and Compliance in Days – Without Any VPN Hassles

Executive Summary

With new requirements from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC-CIP) standard looming, a leading power generation company faced a strict compliance deadline with no clear solution. Their legacy remote access tools were inefficient, costly, and non-compliant. They needed a fix—fast. Enter Xona: a secure, centralized, and effortlessly deployed platform that transformed their access control strategy in days.

The Challenge

A leading power generation company was facing a deadline to comply with new NERC-CIP-003-9 regulations. Their existing remote access solution – built around legacy VPNs – was cumbersome, difficult to manage, and vulnerable to attack.

Their Key Challenges Included:

  • Regulatory Gaps – The latest NERC-CIP updates included stricter remote access requirements, yet their existing tools lacked the necessary offline MFA and centralized access controls.
  • Inefficient Access Management – Disabling user access required manual intervention, creating security risks and compliance headaches.
  • High Operational Costs – Maintaining secure remote connections across 70+ sites meant frequent on-site IT visits, driving up expenses and response times.
  • Security Exposure – VPN-based access left critical assets vulnerable to transient endpoints, increasing the attack surface.

With compliance deadlines approaching, they needed a modern, secure, and scalable solution—one that would not only meet regulatory requirements but also improve operational efficiency across their distributed infrastructure.

Industry: Energy

Power generation technology and solutions corporation

XONA Platform Deployment

Power generation plants

XONA Key Benefits

  • Meets Regulatory Compliance Requirements for Secure Remote and Local Access
  • Increases Cost Savings and Improves Overall Efficiency
  • Protects Critical Infrastructure and Data with Centralized Access Management

XONA SOLUTION

The customer selected the Xona Platform to address their compliance and security needs. Unlike traditional VPN-based solutions that require complex configurations and expose critical systems to insecure user endpoints, Xona operates with zero-trust principles and completely isolates insecure user endpoints from critical systems. Further, dedicated remote access capabilities and having on-premise multifactor authentication (MFA) with no external connectivity were key differentiators aligned with the NERC-CIP requirements.

The customer deployed Xona across approximately 70 sites in a matter of days. By pre-configuring the Xona devices, the customer’s cybersecurity team could ship them to remote locations and have local staff quickly get them up and running. This streamlined deployment approach has saved considerable time and resources compared to traditional on-site implementation.

The customer quickly discovered they could take advantage of other Xona capabilities during their deployment. With Xona’s secure file transfer capabilities, the customer can store site recovery data for quick recovery of devices in the event of a disaster recovery scenario.

Xona’s centralized access management capabilities have also significantly benefited the customer. The customer can now quickly provision, monitor, and terminate user access to critical assets, ensuring compliance with NERC-CIP standards. Additionally, Xona’s offline MFA capability has provided an extra layer of security that further strengthens their security posture. Using the Xona solution, the customer can now securely and remotely manage and troubleshoot issues across their distributed sites, reducing the need for costly on-site visits and improving overall efficiency.

THE XONA DIFFERENCE

Meets Regulatory Compliance Requirements for Secure Remote and Local Access

The Xona Platform provides comprehensive security capabilities to meet NERC-CIP-003-9 requirements associated with controls to authenticate remote users, protect the authentication information in transit, and detect malicious communications assets. Its offline MFA and centralized access management features are crucial for meeting these compliance requirements.

Increases Cost Savings and Improves Overall Efficiency

Xona can be deployed quickly with minimal dependencies, allowing the customer to pre-configure devices before shipping to remote locations. This streamlined deployment approach reduces the time and cost associated with traditional deployments, including travel and lag time between remote locations. The customer can also maintain and troubleshoot their distributed sites remotely without on-site visits.

Protects Critical Infrastructure and Data with Centralized Access Management

Xona allows the customer to centrally provision, monitor, and terminate user access to critical assets and provides complete visibility and control over who can access their systems. The customer can also utilize Xona’s secure file transfer capabilities to store site recovery data for quick recovery of devices in the event of a disaster recovery scenario.

Customer Testimonials

“Xona has allowed our lean IT team to manage and troubleshoot issues remotely across all our sites. This has reduced the need for costly on-site visits and improved our overall operational efficiency.”
- Solutions Architect
“Xona's offline multi-factor authentication was a key factor in our decision to purchase. It has provided an extra layer of security that’s crucial for meeting our NERC CIP compliance requirements.”
- Cybersecurity/OT Manager
“The centralized access management capabilities of Xona have been monumental for us. We can now easily provision, monitor, and terminate user access to our critical assets, ensuring strict compliance with regulations.”
- Solutions Architect

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