Name: Randi Bullard
Date: 10/13/2021
Details
Critical Infrastructure sites are often times vulnerable to cyberattacks not only because the systems that run them are easily accessible and heavily reliant on cyberspace, but also because critical infrastructures are valuable. SCADA systems are used to monitor and control critical infrastructures such as water, traffic lights, electricity, gas and other government assets that are vital for the proper functioning of our economy. The SCADA system can act through either supervisory or system control. The SCDA system plays and important role in automating the control of processes and data collection, which is another reason why these systems are a high value item or target for cyber related attacks. An important thing to note about the SCADA system, is that it includes hardware to offset any failing part in order to keep its process up and running as smoothly as possible. Now let’s discuss some of the ways that a SCDA system can mitigate potential risks by talking about some SCADA controls. Some requirements of the SCADA system include, identity access management, network security controls and asset management. Identity access management is there to ensure the proper identification and authentication to the systems. The network security controls allow the system to be protected from any other network. Lastly, the asset management requirement is there to ensure the identification and classification of SCADA assets. The SCDA certainly had its own challenges and requires careful collaboration and monitoring, but with a SCDA framework can be extremely beneficial for organizations to control risk and select the appropriate tools that are necessary to protect the SCADA networks that are responsible for protecting critical infrastructure. The most beneficial thing about SCADA is the sense of freedom and autonomy that it gives to business, so by having a system that controls all the critical functions for you, it is a lot easier and safer.
References
SCADA Cybersecurity Framework. (n.d.). ISACA.