A Framework for Secure Implementation of Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems

Abstract

Recent developments have seen the number of connections into Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) systems increase very quickly. Initially these systems were stand alone and isolated. Therefore security was not a serious concern except for ensuring that physical access to the system was carefully controlled and restricted to authorised personnel. The immediate consequence of these connections and the opening up of SCADA to other systems is that the y are now being made visible to significantly more threats and vulnerabilities of the system are being exploited. The research through the use of literature reviews, questionnaires and structured interviews investigated this security problem. The security challenges will be looked at from three different angles: physical, technical and social security. The results of the study will therefore address these security challenges and develops a security framework that can be put in place to secure these installations. Taking into consideration the critical nature of the infrastructure that SCADA systems are used to monitor and control, the security of these systems cannot be overemphasised. Furthermore, from a business angle, the organisation will suffer great losses as a result of the security vulnerabilities of the SCADA system.