This article goes in-depth on the current situation of SCADA Systems, and what
infrastructure it runs on. They showed the many vulnerabilities that could occur with the
system and how to solve it. I believe they need to completely revamp the cybersecurity
protocols they have so that the United States’ infrastructure can become more secure.

Introduction to Critical Infrastructure
When important infrastructure was being developed, there was no modern
technology like there is today. Things such as “distribution of water, traffic lights,
electricity transmissions, gas transportation, and oil pipelines” (SCADA Systems), were
data and accessibility on local old computers. And those systems are currently being
added to the internet, which is making them vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Anyone around the world can log into the SCADA computer system and access
and hack the company. An example of this happening would be the hack on the colonial
pipeline in May of 2021. The pipeline was shut down for several days and it affected the
gas and oil prices for millions of Americans around the country (Colonial pipeline,
Kerner). A hack like this could occur to any critical infrastructure in our country, and
with increasing tensions with other nations such as North Korea or Russia, we could be at
a risk.

The Problem
SCADA security systems are fairly underdeveloped and could be in danger of
cyberattacks every day. If critical infrastructure gets taken down, millions of people could
lose their lives. If someone were to hack into the way our water is distributed, they could
control the machines and put poison in the water. Potentially killing a large number of
people, and this is just one of the many infrastructures that can be hacked that are run on
SCADA systems.

Solution
To solve this predicament there needs to be big changes to the current SCADA
system. This is projected to cost a lot of money and manpower to actually update and
solve our security measures, however, it will be worth it. The current answer SCADA has
is to use VPN to provide protection, however, that can be worked around if someone has
the physical address. They are also trying to address these issues by developing
“specialized VPN and firewall solutions for SCADA networks” (SCADA Systems),
however, these are just slowing down the inevitable. In order to successfully stop
potential cyber attacks on SCADA Systems, there needs to be a massive update on the
infrastructure.

Conclusion
SCADA Systems are currently running a majority of the infrastructure in the
United States of America, and are doing so on older vulnerable systems. These systems
can be easily hacked and assessed by criminals all over the world. In order to stop and
prevent this from occurring, they need to update the current security measures. This is so
that millions of lives aren’t affected if one of these infrastructures were to go down.

References
Kerner, S. M. (2022, April 26). Colonial pipeline hack explained: Everything you need to
know. WhatIs.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Colonial-Pipeline-hack-explained-
Everything-you-need-to-know