A Guide to Understanding SCADA Network Security

There’s no doubt that in today’s world, technology rules all. The simple fact of the matter is that for almost every possible task, there exists some kind of technology to take care of it.

There’s one important consequence of this digital age we live in: security now has to extend beyond just the physical and into the software world. In order to ensure the privacy and security of one’s data, one has to be wary of network attacks and prepared with cybersecurity measures.

SCADA security is one such cybersecurity strategy. In this article, we’ll introduce you to the basic tenets of SCADA security so that you can begin to use it in your day-to-day network management.

What Does SCADA Security Stand For?

The acronym SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. SCADA security, as the implication of the name will convey, has to do with industrial operations.

It’s essentially a framework of network security measures that control data collection. It also can control processes within the bounds of industrial operations.

To understand how SCADA security works, it is first important that we understand what the world looked like before SCADA. It’s quite simple to consider. A single individual would have to monitor each workstation and point in the data collection process.

Needless to say, this is quite an expense. Not only do you have to pay the workers who monitor, but you also have to pay to set up the workstations.

With SCADA, one can monitor all processes from a central point which means a significant reduction in monetary costs of managing the system of networks.

However, the caveat is that SCADA makes it easy for a hacker to gain access to an entire system rather than just a portion of it. There are several possible reasons why SCADA access is attractive to those with nefarious purposes.

Firstly, access would be valuable for any corporate espionage team trying to get a leg up on its competition. Depending on the nature of the organization, financial hackers would also love to get a piece of the pie. And last but not least, disgruntled former employees could also seek to wreak havoc on a system so integral to the organization’s operations.

SCADA Penetration Testing

The basis of all SCADA security measures starts with SCADA penetration testing. it’s impossible for an organization to shore up its network defenses without first knowing where it’s liabilities and weaknesses are.

By hiring SCADA penetration testing services, one can locate those weak points and build up cybersecurity defenses at those specific points in the network.

Whatever liable points that are identified will have to be solidified with firewall buildups.

Keep Your Systems Safe

There you have it — now that you know how to begin leveraging SCADA security to protect your organization, you’re ready to hire testing services to identify your weak points.

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