Understanding Deep Packet Inspection for SCADA Security

The world’s manufacturing, energy and transportation infrastructures are currently facing a serious security crisis. These critical systems are largely based on legacy SCADA and Industrial Control System (ICS) products and protocols. Many of these products are decades old and were never designed with security in mind.

The good news is that there is an effective and easy-to-deploy solution to this security crisis. Using an advanced technology called “Deep Packet Inspection” (DPI), SCADA-aware firewalls offer fine-grained control of control system traffic.

This white paper explains what DPI is and how it compares to traditional IT firewalls. It then outlines how engineers can use DPI to block the malicious or inappropriate traffic, while avoiding needless impact on the control system. A case history illustrates how a seaway management company used Modbus DPI firewalls to secure a mission critical canal system.

Technical Briefing Kit - "Understanding Deep Packet Inspection for SCADA Security"

 

 

This Technical Briefing Kit explains:

  • The lack of granularity of SCADA/ICS protocols, making Deep Packet Inspection a necessity
  • How DPI improves the security and reliability  of industrial systems
  • The urgent need for DPI given the advanced malware, such as Stuxnet, that is attacking industrial control systems nowadays
  • Tofino Security DPI technology for securing the OPC and Modbus protocols

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