Certification provides additional assurance of data security

As electric utilities increasingly shift to a more customer-centric engagement model, it is critical that they ensure data privacy and security while maintaining data integrity in order to properly manage demand response and energy-efficiency programs.

The SOC 2 from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the highest data security certification a company can obtain in order to provide this protection, and Opower claims it is the first in the industry to obtain such certification.

The SOC 2 is a third-party evaluation of specific controls implemented for the protection of utility data and that these controls are designed and operating as they were intended.

In the past, Opower has published a set of principals in regard to its privacy practices; implemented Privacy by Design framework into its operations; and obtained TRUSTe certification under the US-EU "Safe Harbor" framework. The SOC 2 certification builds upon these security efforts.

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