SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is the term given to IT systems which control essential processes such as electric power generation, transmission and distribution, water management systems, mass transit systems, manufacturing systems, oil and gas sector manufacturing and pipeline processes, supply chain management and logistics network management etc.SCADA systems are vulnerable to hacking, misoperative and sabotage (eg loss of containment) attacks, both by criminals and terrorists. Alarmingly, many delegates attending security management courses at ARC Training are not aware of the term SCADA, let alone the inherent vulnerabilities of SCADA. This in indicative of a lack of liaison between those responsible for IT security on the one hand and physical/operational security on the other.
According to MI5’s Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, threats to such IT-based systems continue to escalate and the fact that many systems are remotely supported by vendors increases their exposure to hacking and virus attacks. MI5 concludes that there may be insufficient security measures to keep such systems safe.
For further information navigate to:
http://www.cpni.gov.uk/ProtectingYourAssets/ElectronicSecurity/scada.aspx
For additional information on how to protect SCADA systems contact David.
