Written by Blaine Fromholzer

SCADA Systems 

This article overall described the role SCADA Systems has in organizations. It explains how SCADA Systems deals with critical infrastructures by maintaining and processing data in a compact way. 

What is a SCADA System? 

SCADA systems are crucial for industrial organizations since they help to maintain efficiency, process data for smarter decisions, and communicate system issues to help mitigate downtime (Inductive Automation, 2018). They allow an organization to carefully study and anticipate the optimal response to measured conditions and execute those responses automatically every time. Relying on precise machine control for monitoring equipment and processes virtually eliminates human error (OleumTech, 2020). 

Vulnerabilities and Critical Infrastructure 

A ‘supervisory Station’ refers to the software and servers responsible for communication with the field equipment (PLCs, RTUs, etc), and after that, to HMI software running on the workstations in the control room, or somewhere else (SCADA Systems, 2022). This concept demonstrates the ability to track what is going on with multiple computers in the infrastructure, using just one computer as a “supervisory station.” This can also be seen as a vulnerability too if the supervisory computer was attacked and taken over. There is an erroneous belief that SCADA networks are safe enough because they are secured physically. It is also wrongly believed that SCADA networks are safe enough because they are disconnected from the Internet (SCADA Systems, 2022). But as technology advances today the use of systems that do not require a connection to the internet will be rendered completely useless, which can cause a high vulnerability rate within SCADA Systems. 

Concluding SCADA Systems  

SCADA Systems, created in the 1990s, have evolved at a rapid pace, and is said to have gone through 3 “generations” (SCADA Systems, 2022). And since there were no networks being used at that time SCADA is a system that does not require a connection to a network to function properly. But because of the aged system, it comes with many vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. 

Sources: 

“What Is SCADA?” Inductive Automation, 2018, https://inductiveautomation.com/resources/article/what-is-scada. 

“What Is SCADA? Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.” OleumTech, 14 July 2020, https://oleumtech.com/what-is-scada. 

“SCADA Systems.” SCADA Systems, 2022, http://www.scadasystems.net/.