SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, and it is an industrial control
system used in many different applications but mainly infrastructure processes and industrial
processes.
Overview
SCADA is an industrial control system mainly used in infrastructure processes and industrial
processes. They also consist of subsystems a human operator, remote terminal units (RTUs),
programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and a supervisory system. SCADA systems do not
typically control the processes in real-time and instead it typically coordinates the processes in
real-time. SCADA systems acquire data and present it as status reports to the human operator
who can make informed decisions depending on the resulting data.
Human Machine Interface and Hardware
The HMI or human machine interface gives the processed data to the human operator and the
human operator can use the HMI to control the processes. Typically, the HMI has graphical
drawings that are displayed digitally to keep the operator informed. HMI/SCADA packages that
are currently offered in the market are compatible with several different PLCs which allows
engineers to configure the HMI without requiring software developer programs to be written.
SCADA systems are built to withstand different situations so that they can operate in extreme
conditions. They typically communicate through the ethernet. This was an update that was
released with the Third Generation of SCADA systems. SCADA protocol systems are designed
to be compact so they can send information regularly. There are four different generations of
SCADA systems, “Monolithic, Distributed, Networked, and Web based systems” (Peter, 2021)
Security Issues
The security of SCADA systems is being questioned as they are potential targets of cyber-attacks
and could result in major damage. With SCADA controlling a lot of infrastructure like water,
traffic lights, electricity and much more it is imperative that they are highly secure and cannot be
accessed by unauthorized users. “SCADA vendors are implementing industrial VPNs and
firewall solutions to help deter potential cyber-attacks on the systems” (SCADA). Additionally,
whitelisting solutions have been implemented to help deter unauthorized access to the systems.