SCADA is an abbreviation for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It is a group of connected technologies that usually control a system of infrastructure. There are several significant vulnerabilities that the SCADA system has. With every issue that comes up, there are also ways to fix and alleviate these problems.
Vulnerabilities
According to the SCADA systems website, one the of the serious issues this system faces is from intentional interference (SCADA Systems, 2018). An example of this would be the Stuxnet attack on an Iranian nuclear facility. The attackers were able to use a worm to make entry into their SCADA system and were able to disrupt their progress in advancing their nuclear capabilities. According to an Infosec article, a large threat to many SCADA systems would be the software the system is running is old and out of date (Paganini, 2020). With the systems running older software, it would be easier for someone with ill intention to access the system and do damage. Those are two vulnerabilities that a critical infrastructure system could be facing out of many.
Mitigating Risk
SCADA systems are critical in securing the infrastructure all over the world. Making sure that there are not vulnerabilities in SCADA systems is a priority to everyone. Allowing only the authorized users to have access to the system is the first step. You need to be proactive and make sure worms or other threats are not able to get into your system, like Stuxnet. Making sure the software on your systems is up to date or running a newer more advanced software is a priority. This is a way of mitigating a risk to the infrastructure systems.
Conclusion
SCADA systems are used for critical infrastructure, but they are also used in systems by everyone each day. It is in every person’s best interest that these systems are running and up to date. These systems face threats and challenges, but these can be mitigated with key decisions. Making sure the correct users have access and that the software in the system is the correct one is a priority.
References
Paganini, P. (2020, July 15). SCADA & security of critical infrastructures [updated 2020]. Infosec Resources. https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/scada-security-of- criticalinfrastructures/
SCADA Systems. (2018). SCADA Systems – SCADA Systems. SCADA Systems. http://www.scadasystems.net/