Securing critical infrastructure across Finland’s remote areas with Hanwha Vision cameras, recording devices and Wisenet WAVE VMS.

Leppäkoski is a versatile energy company providing electricity, district heat, natural gas and other energy solutions in the southwest region of Finland. Its energy outputs include electricity, natural gas and district heating distribution with more than 30,000 customers relying on the company. Leppäkoski needed to protect 35 sites across Finland, primarily in rural locations. Sites, from small substations to thermal power plants, required tailored security solutions to safeguard valuable equipment, prevent trespassing, and protect critical infrastructure.

Monitoring critical infrastructure

Leppäkoski needed a new video surveillance system that could monitor their energy sites across Finland, with footage centralised for review by a control room team. Local installer Pirkan Verkkopalvelu Oy, who led the project design, recommended Hanwha Vision due to its robust and cyber-secure solutions and the Wisenet WAVE video management system (VMS).

Streamlined, continuous monitoring

In total, 60 cameras, including AI multi-directional and bullet cameras, were installed across the sites. Together, they support the Leppäkoski security team with detecting potential trespassing, perimeter control, along with comprehensive surveillance of the complex energy plants. At each site, a network video recorder (NVR) WRN-810S-4CH, preloaded and configured with Wisenet WAVE, was installed to locally store footage and metadata before transmitting it back to the central location.

The multi-directional cameras allow operators to view multiple channels at once, improving situational awareness across each site and boosting operator efficiency. Multi-directional cameras require significantly less cabling and infrastructure, compared with what would normally be required to enable separate cameras to cover large and complex scenes. Additionally, infrared (IR) viewing lengths ranging from 25 to 40 metres mean operators have visibility of events day and night.

AI capabilities, in the PNM-C7083RVD multi-directional camera and the XNO-C7083R bullet camera, expand the Leppäkoski sites’ surveillance capabilities. AI-powered analytics such as object detection and classification minimise false alarms and bolster efficiency, allowing operators to easily identify and monitor objects of interest such as vehicles or people. Meanwhile, the BestShot feature delivers the highest quality snapshots of detected objects in real-time, along with metadata, to optimise bandwidth. These features are complemented by WiseStreamⅢ which applies low compression rates to detected objects, while applying high compression to the remaining field of view. This optimises bandwidth and data storage requirements while maintaining image quality.

The XNO-6010R bullet camera supports the system further with reliable 24/7 monitoring, automatic handover to other cameras, and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) to retain detail in high-contrast scenes. Built-in infrared provides night-time recording up to 20 metres, and with Hallway view for narrow scenes.

A flexible, customisable VMS

In addition, the Wisenet WAVE video management system provides the control room with customisable dashboards, allowing operators to select the formats and video streams that they need. Wisenet WAVE can be run on any operating system with custom integrations supported, meaning the Leppäkoski team can add more devices and functionality in the future.

Leading cybersecurity

Critical infrastructure is an attractive target for malicious actors since it is vital to the smooth running of the economy and society. Hanwha Vision’s commitment to best-in-class cybersecurity was a primary reason why it was chosen by the Leppäkoski team. Its compliance with key cybersecurity regulations and standards, including the United States’ National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), plus its dedicated in-house Security Computer Emergency Response Team (S-CERT), gives Leppäkoski leadership peace-of-mind in the cybersecurity of their video system.

Kasper Kahila at Pirkan Verkkopalvelu Oy explains why Hanwha Vision was the chosen camera, recording device and VMS solutions provider: “Hanwha Vision stands out for the quality and robustness of its devices along with the cyber-resilience of its hardware and VMS. With thousands of households and businesses relying on Leppäkoski for their energy needs, choosing a reliable and responsible video surveillance solution was vital.”

In the future, the Leppäkoski team are set to expand their video surveillance features with additional capabilities, including AI radiometric thermal cameras to monitor flammable stores which require tight temperature control.