SCADA System
What is the SCADA?
SCADA: (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
The term SCADA usually refers to a central system that monitors and controls a complete site. The bulk of the site control is actually performed automatically by a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), also called a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). Host control functions are almost always restricted to basic site override or supervisory level capability.
SCADA computers monitor and control the flow of electricity across the nation's power grids. They turn pump switches on and off to make oil and gas and water pipelines flow. They make sure robots, mixing machines and other factory equipment do what they are supposed to do.
SCADA THREATS
According to government officials, the U.S. military in 2001 found evidence in Afghanistan that al Qaeda terrorists were researching SCADA systems. The increasingly networked and linked infrastructure of modern SCADA systems has rendered early security plans obsolete.
In a survey of utility industry officials in 2005 by Trusted Network Technologies, about 20 percent of respondents said their SCADA systems had already been subjected to outside threats. About 30 percent said they expected a utility SCADA network would be attacked soon.
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) started working on rules require the electricity industry to audit and monitor its SCADA networks.
Back