September 2012

SCADA Security Basics: SCADA vs. ICS Terminology

Submitted by Eric Byres on Wed, 2012-09-05 21:00

Recently I saw a posting on LinkedIn asking “What’s the difference between a SCADA system and an ICS system, and if there is no difference, then why do we have two different names?”

This is a good question, because unless you have worked in the industrial automation field for a few decades, the terminology can seem very confusing. Not only do we have SCADA versus ICS, we also have terms like Process Control, Discrete Control, Industrial Automation, Manufacturing Automation Systems, Distributed Control Systems, Energy Management Systems and so on.

SCADA Security Basics: Why are PLCs so Insecure?

Submitted by eschweigert on Wed, 2012-09-12 15:23

Last week Eric Byres addressed the difference between SCADA, ICS and other jargon in our industry. This week I am going to address a question I am often asked “Why are industrial networks so hard to secure?” This is a big topic, so today I will address only “Why are PLCs so Insecure?”

Awesome SCADA Security Operations Centre

Submitted by David Alexander on Wed, 2012-09-19 21:00

To understand the problems faced by SCADA users, the team at Regency IT Consulting wanted to build a basic test rig. The goal with the rig was to help us understand the users’ challenges and to interact with the technology and protocols.