SCADA Systems

            The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions (SCADA) refers to the control system that moderates industrial and agricultural sites. The purpose of a SCADA systems is to monitor industrial sites by regulating any changes within the system and communicating with industrial operators in real time. This system is crucial for industrial sites and other critical infrastructures as it constantly monitors any changes that could be catastrophic and can either shut down the entire system to avoid issues spreading across systems or warn on-site operators of any changes. As manufacturing grew, these systems allowed for around the clock monitoring of infrastructure sites without the need of a actual person monitoring the system.

SCADA System Components

            The SCADA System is composed of controls systems which contain remote terminal units (RTUs) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These terminals perform any adjustments needed to regulate systems within am industrial sites and records any changes and work done automatically without the use of an on-site operator. Human Machine Interface, or HMI, is an interface in which human operators can view all diagnostics data and other information of work being done within the system. These components of a SCADA system has improved the communication between man and technology which is crucial to ensure that any catastrophic failures are prevented from spreading to other systems or sites. 

Vulnerabilities to Infrastructures that SCADA Systems Prevent

            Critical infrastructures can be described as infrastructures that produce assets needed for survival such as water and energy, communication, transportation, and healthcare. Threats to critical infrastructures can be catastrophic as issues within one site can spread rapidly to other sites which can affect the lives of many and can be characterized into three categories: human error, natural disasters, and technical errors. Just like any other form of technology, systems within critical infrastructures can be targeted for attacks which requires around the clock monitoring by on-site operators and systems such as SCADA systems. Natural disasters can also occur and, in some cases, cause an entire site to shutdown affecting important aspects such as communication. 

Conclusion

These threats can cause major damage, and in some cases, cause the lives of many as critical infrastructures are a crucial aspect to a functioning society. Communication between technology and humans is an important factor that can prevent future catastrophes and implementing SCADA systems to critical infrastructures have prevented major disasters.