SCADA Systems Roles & Application 

In this article we will break down what critical infrastructure systems are. Next we will explain what supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are. Finally we will explain the benefits of a SCADA system. 

Critical Infrastructure Systems

Think of your morning routine, for me after waking up I brush my teeth and take my morning shower. Then I check my phone for emails and head to school or work. Most of the things that I do automatically is because of the United State’s already developed critical infrastructure. According to Livingston, “In the United States, critical infrastructure includes 16 industries: Chemical Sector, Commercial Facilities Sector, Communications Sector,  Critical Manufacturing Sector, Dams Sector, Defense Industrial Base Sector, Emergency Services Sector, Energy Sector, Financial Services Sector, Food and Agriculture Sector, Government Facilities Sector, Healthcare and Public Health Sector, Information Technology Sector, Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector, Transportation Systems Sector, and Water and Wastewater Systems Sector” (2022). As seen in my morning routine example, I personally rely on a multitude of sectors for my everyday life. 

It is very important for these systems to be running at all times. Each one of these infrastructures are intertwined with our daily lives. Imagine if our energy sector was able to be taken down. Most of our jobs include energy and power one way or another. We would not be able to drive after dark, we would not be able to communicate, and many of our hospitals would not be able to run for long on backup power. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, “There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof” (n.d.). 

SCADA Systems 

As we stated in the last section, the effects of even one infrastructure sector going down would be massively detrimental to our country. So one way that we mitigate that risk is by implementing SCADA systems. According to SCADA Systems, “SCADA refers to the centralized systems that control and monitor the entire sites, or they are the complex systems spread out over large areas. Nearly all the control actions are automatically performed by the remote terminal units (RTUs) or by the programmable logic controllers (PLCs)” (n.d.). That means that SCADA is a communications network designed for industrial control rather than data networking. For example let’s look at Virginia Natural Gas. My current house uses gas for heat in the winter. Outside of my house I have a meter that reads how much gas I have used that month. They don’t have to come by monthly because the meter gathers the data and communicates it back to Virginia Natural Gas because I am a part of that SCADA network. This meter helps mitigate vulnerabilities by the fact people aren’t deployed every month to make house visits. Just think how much manpower it would take to visit thousands of houses a month to read the meters. The process of bringing that data back to the department and quantifying it in a way so that the billing section can understand and accurately bill me. Any misstep along the way can lead to unnecessary cost and SCADA helps automate this process. 

Conclusion 

Our critical infrastructure that we were able to develop and grow play a huge part in why our lives are as convenient as it is. The ability to flick a light switch and power comes on instantaneously. The convenience of taking a shower at any time of the day. The relief I feel that I am not in physical danger of my life when I step out of my door. All of this is because of our critical infrastructure and one huge part of that infrastructure is because of the development of SCADA systems. SCADA’s ability to collect, process and translate that data to us instantaneously is the reason for Americans’ quality of life the way that it is. 

References 

Critical Infrastructure Sectors: CISA. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. (n.d.). https://www.cisa.gov/topics/critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience/ critical-infrastructure-sectors 

Livingston, J. (2022, November 30). What is Critical Infrastructure Cyber Security?. Verve Industrial, A Rockwell Automation Company.https://verveindustrial.com/resources/ blog/critical-infrastructure-cyber-security/ 

SCADA systems. SCADA Systems. (n.d.). https://www.scadasystems.net/