SCADA (which means Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) Systems are essential in controlling and monitoring various industrial processes. SCADA systems are frequently used for fields such as electricity generation and transmission to the production of oil and gas and manufacturing.
If you’re thinking of purchasing an SCADA System for your business in lieu of other options it is essential to understand all you can about it to utilize it in the best way possible. The most crucial thing you need to be aware of and don’t want to forget when considering SCADA Systems is cybersecurity. Check out this article to learn all you should be aware of SCADA systems cybersecurity and how to utilize it effectively for your company.
Table of Contents
Which are the main threats to SCADA Software?
As we’ve mentioned, SCADA systems may be susceptible to cyber-attacks. Let’s go over the most common threats:
- Malware This type of malware can grant cybercriminals access to your SCADA system, without your permission. In this way, they can access sensitive information and disrupt operations or damage other critical systems.
- Phishing: it is a form of social engineering that trick people into sharing sensitive information or gaining access to systems via email or social media. other types of communications;
- DoS (DoS) attack This method is employed by cybercriminals to overburden system traffic, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate customers. This is a method to deter your company as other cyber attacks take place.
Prevent SCADA Cyber Attacks
How can your company make sure its SCADA software is safe from cyber threats? By instituting a robust cybersecurity program encompassing these elements:
- Access Control: It is important to restrict who can gain entry to your system and what they can do with it, using authentication techniques such as usernames/passwords/biometric verification etc.
- Intrusion Detection and Prevention: you can utilize systems designed to detect specific types of attacks while monitoring network traffic for anomalies;
- Incident Response: Your organization must have a plan in place to respond quickly and efficiently to a cyberattack, from identifying it and isolating it to recovering normal operations;
- Penetration Testing: it is crucial that organizations conduct simulations of cyber attacks in order to identify weaknesses in their system and address them before an actual cyber attack takes place;
- Cybersecurity training: it is important that employees learn about the significance of cybersecurity in protecting themselves and the organization from potential cyber-attacks.
How to Choose the SCADA Software Perfect for you
Finding the ideal SCADA software can be a difficult endeavour, with numerous factors to take into account when making this decision. Your first step should be identifying your organization’s specific needs and requirements – for instance, monitoring of processes or systems being monitored/controlled remotely via remote devices; data analysis/reporting requirements etc.
Also, consider the required level of technical expertise and consider training your employees so that the SCADA system works to its potential, along with any extra hardware such as servers or IoT devices that might be necessary.
Remember that selecting a SCADA system should involve considering various options and choosing one which meets all of your organization’s unique requirements.
Different types of SCADA software
There are several kinds of SCADA software, each distinguished by its specific features and capabilities. Centralized SCADA, distributed SCADA and web-based SCADA are some of the more commonly known types of SCADA systems available today.
Centralized SCADA systems use a central server that collects and manages data from remote devices, while Distributed SCADA involves multiple servers collecting and managing information and giving more flexibility and scalability. Web-based SCADA provides remote access to its systems through web technology allowing accessing data or managing processes from anywhere with internet connectivity.
Security in SCADA systems should never be overlooked if you want to ensure the protection of your organization and business. Make sure you implement our cybersecurity program, train employees extensively on cybersecurity best practices and conduct regular audits on these critical systems.
