Press/Announcements

OATI Successfully Audits WEQ-012 and WebTrust Compliance

Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) successfully audits compliance of OATI webCARES with North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for Authorized Certification Authorities (ACA) standards, and the AICPA/CICA Trust Services Principles and Criteria for Certification Authorities Version 2.0 (WebTrust for Certification Authorities Principles and Criteria).

Minneapolis, MN: January 15, 2013 
– OATI is pleased to announce the successful completion of OATI webCARES compliance audit with the latest North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for Authorized Certification Authorities (ACA) standards and the NAESB Accreditation Requirements for Authorized Certification Authorities (collectively “WEQ-012 Business Practice Standards”). OATI’s third party auditing firm, Schellman & Company, LLC (SCLLC), an affiliate of Brightline, examined OATI webCARES for compliance with WEQ-012 Business Practice Standards. After a thorough examination, conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Schellman concluded that OATI webCARES is in compliance with the WEQ-012 Business Practice Standards.

The WEQ-012 Business Standards were developed with the input of multiple industry participants through the NAESB standards drafting process, and set forth PKI cyber security standards for use in commercial transactions. Specifically, the WEQ-012 Business Practice Standards set forth qualifications to be met by a Certificate Authority in order to be recognized by NAESB as an Authorized Certificate Authority (ACA), qualified to provide PKI services to OATI webRegistry, the TSIN replacement registry, as well as other services in the near future.

In addition to the WEQ-012 Business Practice Standards, OATI recently successfully completed a WebTrust audit. The audit, also performed by SCLLC, was based upon the AICPA/CICA Trust Services Principles and Criteria for Certification Authorities Version 2.0 (WebTrust for Certification Authorities Principles and Criteria) (“WebTrust Standards”). The WebTrust standards set forth security and process control best practices applicable to all Certificate Authorities. The WebTrust seal, evidencing OATI’s compliance with the WebTrust standards, will appear on the OATI webCARES site. The WebTrust seal allows users of OATI webCARES to rest assured that OATI webCARES follows best practices applicable to certificate authorities.

“In support of the industry’s concern for increased cyber security profiles, OATI is pleased to provide assurance to our customers and the industry, that OATI webCARES fully complies with both the NAESB WEQ-012 Business Standards and WebTrust Standards,” said Sasan Mokhtari, President and CEO of OATI. “This further evidences our commitment to emerging industry needs as well as providing more value to our customers.”

OATI provides innovative software solutions that simplify, streamline, and empower the operational tasks required in today’s energy commerce and Smart Grid. With more than 1,200 customers in North America, OATI successfully deploys large, complicated, and diverse mission-critical applications committed to industry standards and stringent NERC CIP and NAESB guidelines.

OATI is the leading provider of Smart Grid, Energy Trading and Risk Management, Transmission Scheduling, Congestion Management, and Market Management products and services, with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and an office in Redwood City, California. For more information, please contact sales@oati.net.