Authentication on high critical infrastructures using interoperable federated identities

The technical guideline TR-03109 divides between the roles of the SMGW technician and the Gateway administrator whereas the Gateway administrator gains full access to the SMGW and the service technician has only very limited access rights. In many scenarios the service technician will also need full access to the Smart Meter Gateway which means that he must be able to change its role. Federated identities can help to create a solution that keeps the strict role enforcement between service technician and Gateway Administrator. This article presents an approach on the background of the current Smart Grid development and identity technology adopting approaches used for the German national ID card. A short discussion pertaining threats and risks completes the discussion.