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Nominergy Blog

On this page you will be able to read about product updates, general news and learn more about the industries that Nominergy operate within.

December 03, 2024

Understanding AS2 and AS4: Secure Document Exchange

News

Exchanging business documents in an efficient and secure fashion is crucial in today’s world, and the energy sector, requiring high standards of compliance and data protection, is not exempt from that necessity. At Nominergy, we rely on protocols such as AS2 (Applicability Statement 2) and AS4 (Applicability Statement 4) alongside S/MIME and SMTP to facilitate secure and seamless communication across organizations. How do they work, however? #### First, what is AS2? AS2 is a widely used protocol for securely exchanging EDI (electronic data interchange) and other business documents over the internet. Released in 2002, logically as a follow-up to AS1, AS2 remains one of the most popular standards for B2B communication due to its simplicity, security, and reliability. AS2 transmits data in a point-to-point manner, meaning it directly connects the sender and the recipient without requiring intermediaries like Value-Added Networks (VANs). It utilizes encryption, digital signatures, and Message Disposition Notifications (MDNs) to ensure that files are securely sent, received, and acknowledged. It follows a few steps: 1. Packaging: Documents are wrapped in a secure envelope using S/MIME for encryption and signing. 2. Transmission: Files are sent over HTTP or HTTPS. 3. Acknowledgment: The recipient generates an MDN, a receipt confirming successful delivery and integrity of the file. This ensures AS provides some benefits: Secure Communication: Encryption and digital signatures protect data in transit. Direct Connectivity: Eliminates reliance on third-party networks, reducing costs. Compliance: Meets strict regulatory standards for industries like energy, healthcare, and retail. Reliability: MDNs provide nonrepudiation, ensuring proof of delivery and integrity. AS2 is a robust and proven solution for exchanging critical documents like contracts, invoices, and performance reports, particularly in sectors that demand stringent security protocols. #### How is AS4 different? AS4 is an advanced successor to AS2, becoming an ISO standard in 2020 and offering more flexibility and modern features for secure document exchange. Built on web service standards, AS4 is designed for use in both EDI and more dynamic business processes, such as supply chain management or energy trading. Unlike AS2, which focuses on point-to-point transfers, AS4 operates on a message-exchange model using the ebMS (ebXML Messaging Service) framework. This makes it better suited for asynchronous communication and multi-party interactions. Its operation is comparable to AS2: 1. Packaging: Documents are encrypted and signed, similar to AS2. 2. Message Exchange: Messages are exchanged using SOAP over HTTP or HTTPS, with additional support for attachments and advanced routing. 3. Reliability: Built-in mechanisms like retries, acknowledgments, and receipts ensure reliable delivery. AS4 also integrates features such as service agreements, which allow trading partners to specify rules for exchanging messages. The key benefits it provides are also slightly different: Modern Architecture: Supports asynchronous messaging, making it ideal for complex workflows. Scalability: Handles larger message volumes and multi-party exchanges effectively. Standardization: Compliant with web service standards like SOAP and WS-Security. Flexibility: Enables richer data exchanges, including attachments and metadata. While AS2 remains widely used for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, AS4 is better suited for modern, large-scale applications. Both protocols have their strengths and can be used in complementary ways depending on the business need. Through Nominergy, we integrate AS2 and AS4 into our operations to provide clients with seamless and secure communication. Whether you’re looking to implement AS2 for direct exchanges or AS4 for scalable solutions, our team is here to guide you every step of the way. In the gas industry, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, there’s an increasing focus on AS4, reflecting a broader industry trend toward modern, secure, and future-proof communication standards. AS4's advantages over AS3 explain why we chose not to provide AS3 as an option at the moment. Contact us to learn more about how AS2 and AS4 can transform your business communications!

November 27, 2024

Understanding S/MIME: Secure Communication

In industries like the energy sector, where sensitive data must be exchanged securely, protocols like S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) ensure the confidentiality and integrity of communication. At Nominergy, we prioritize secure document exchanges using technologies such as S/MIME, SMTP, and AS2-AS4. Today, we’ll explore how S/MIME works and why it’s critical for ensuring secure messaging in a sector reliant on precise and confidential data exchanges. #### What is S/MIME? S/MIME is a widely accepted cryptographic protocol that provides two essential services for email communication: 1. Encryption: Ensures that only authorized recipients can read the message content. 2. Digital Signatures: Verifies the sender’s identity and ensures the email hasn’t been altered during transit. By integrating S/MIME, Nominergy helps protect critical documents like invoices, energy reports, and regulatory data, ensuring that documents are safe from unauthorized access or tampering. #### How S/MIME Works S/MIME operates using asymmetric cryptography, which involves two keys: Public Key: Used to encrypt the email. Private Key: Unique to the recipient and used to decrypt the email. It can be summarized in two parts: 1. Message Encryption: When you send an email, your system encrypts it using the recipient’s public key. This ensures only the recipient’s private key can decrypt the message. 2. Digital Signature: S/MIME attaches a digital signature, which uses your private key to authenticate your identity. The recipient verifies the signature using your public key. These processes safeguard email communication by providing confidentiality, as only intended recipients can access the message, authentication, as it ensures the sender’s identity is legitimate, and integrity, from the guarantee that the message hasn’t been altered during transmission. To use S/MIME, users must obtain a digital certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This certificate links a user’s identity to their public and private keys. Once installed in an email client, S/MIME-enabled messages can be sent and received seamlessly. #### Why Use S/MIME? In the energy industry, sensitive documents—such as contracts, consumption data, and compliance reports—frequently change hands between stakeholders. S/MIME ensures these exchanges remain confidential, authenticated, and secure, reducing risks like unauthorized access or data tampering. Key advantages include data protection, trust building through the verification of the sender, and legal non-repudiation, since by digitally signing emails, senders can’t deny ownership of sent messages, which is vital in legal disputes. #### S/MIME vs. Other Email Security Protocols While SMTP handles email transmission, it lacks encryption and authentication. S/MIME addresses these gaps with robust cryptographic methods. However, in complex B2B scenarios, protocols like AS4 may complement S/MIME by providing additional security for structured document exchanges. | Feature | SMTP | S/MIME | AS4 | | :-----------------: | :----------------: | :------------------------: | :-------------------: | | Confidentiality | No | Yes | Yes | | Authentication | No | Yes (Digital Signatures) | Yes | | Use Case | Email transmission | Secure email communication | B2B document exchange | #### Conclusion S/MIME is a helpful tool in ensuring secure communication, particularly in cases where data protection is required. By encrypting messages and verifying sender identities, S/MIME allows organizations to share sensitive documents with confidence. With Nominergy, we integrate S/MIME with other advanced protocols to provide a comprehensive, secure communication ecosystem. Feel free to contact our team to learn more about how S/MIME can protect your business operations!

November 26, 2024

Understanding SMTP: A Simple Overview

In the energy sector, where precise data exchange is critical for smooth operations, protocols like SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), play a key role in ensuring secure and efficient communication. At Nominergy, we use a variety of protocols to streamline business document exchanges, including SMTP, AS4, and AS2. Today, we’re diving the first of these, explaining how it works and why we care. #### What is SMTP? SMTP is a communication protocol which became a technical standard that defines how emails are sent over the internet. It’s the technology behind email transmission, making it possible for messages to travel from one server to another until they reach their destination. In the context of our platform, SMTP helps facilitate the exchange of important documents and data, such as consumption data or invoices. Think of SMTP like a reliable postal system that helps send messages from one point to another across the internet. But instead of paper, it uses data packets to deliver emails. It’s important to note that SMTP is not used to retrieve emails. While SMTP is responsible for sending emails, IMAP or POP protocols are used to retrieve them from the server to your email client. #### How Does SMTP Work? Here’s a simplified version of how SMTP functions: 1. Message Creation: The process starts when you create a message on your email client (e.g., Nominergy’s tool). This could include a document you want to send, like a green certificate or an energy report. 2. SMTP Server Connection: Once you hit "send," the email client opens a connection to the SMTP server using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). This server is responsible for ensuring that your email is properly directed to the recipient’s server. 3. Message Delivery: The SMTP server checks the recipient’s address and uses DNS (Domain Name System) to find the mail server of the recipient. If the server cannot directly send the email to the recipient, it forwards the message to the next server in the chain, similar to how mail gets routed through post offices until it reaches its destination. This can therefore involve multiple servers, especially if the recipient is located in another country or region, for instance in the case of a Swedish sender and Danish recipient. 4. Final Delivery: Once the email reaches the recipient’s server, the server closes the connection, and the document can be retrieved by the recipient through their email client. #### Why is SMTP Useful for the Energy Sector? In the energy sector, where data is exchanged between multiple stakeholders—from energy producers to regulatory bodies—SMTP ensures that important documents are delivered promptly and securely. Whether you're exchanging green certificates, consumption data or other regulatory documents, SMTP enables you to send these documents over the internet in a reliable manner. Here are a few of SMTP’s perks: • Simplicity: SMTP is simple and straightforward to use, which makes it an excellent choice for businesses in the energy sector that may not need complex systems for email transmission. • Portability: SMTP works across various email servers, meaning messages can be sent between different platforms and operating systems with no issue. • Non-Interactive: SMTP works in the background, with minimal user interaction required once the email is sent. And here are the key components of SMTP: • SMTP Envelope: Think of the envelope of a letter—it holds the details of who is sending the email and where it’s going. The SMTP envelope is not visible to the recipient but is crucial in the routing of the email to its destination. • SMTP Commands: SMTP works with specific text-based instructions. These include: 	o HELO/EHLO: This command starts the communication between the email client and server. 	o MAIL FROM: This indicates who is sending the email. 	o RCPT TO: This lists the recipient’s email address. 	o DATA: This is where the actual message content is transferred, including the subject, body, and any attachments. 	o QUIT: This ends the communication once the email has been sent. • SMTP Server: An SMTP server is a specialized computer that handles sending and receiving emails. It ensures your email is properly transferred and delivered to the correct destination. There are different components of an SMTP server: 	o Mail Submission Agent (MSA): Receives emails from the client. 	o Mail Transfer Agent (MTA): Moves the email between servers until it reaches the recipient’s mail server. 	o Mail Delivery Agent (MDA): Stores the email in the recipient’s inbox. #### SMTP vs Other Communication Protocols While SMTP is widely used for email communication, it's often paired with other protocols for secure and structured document exchanges, like AS4 and AS2. These newer protocols ensure data is exchanged securely and are often used in B2B environments, where business documents need to be transferred reliably across systems. For instance, while AS4 and AS2 focus on secure B2B data exchange, SMTP is more suited for email communication, making it a simpler solution for sending notifications, reports, and other types of communication between partners in the energy sector. #### Conclusion In conclusion, SMTP is an essential protocol that helps businesses and people send emails and documents securely between servers. It’s easy to use, reliable, and a great fit for exchanging important documents. Whether you're communicating with local or foreign partners, SMTP provides a streamlined way to ensure your messages reach their destination. With Nominergy, we integrate SMTP alongside other advanced communication protocols like AS4 and AS2 to provide a comprehensive solution for gas and electricity professionals. This way, you can focus on your core work while leaving the complexities of communication to us. If you're ready to get started with SMTP or have any questions, feel free to reach out to our support team—we're here to help!

October 03, 2024

Nominergy v2

We recently announced Nominergy v2. This update includes some major changes in both UI and handling. What's changed? - Revamped the UI for the entire application - Switched to NextJS 14, for more servers-side rendering - Added a blog - Removed the dashboard and replaced it with a billing page instead - Introduced automatic masterdata handling - Made the overall application around 10x faster - Fixed some bugs around the page