Industrial Control System (ICS) is an umbrella term that includes SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition).
An ICS network can monitor many infrastructure and raw material systems, such as conveyor belts in a mining operation, power consumption in the electric grid and valve pressures in a natural gas facility. ICS networks are mission critical, requiring immediate and high-availability.
SCADA is a systems architecture for managing large and complex processes. SCADA systems are normally found in utility providers such as natural gas and electric power transmission, where control functions are distributed over a large geographic area.
SCADA systems consist of three main components:
- A central command center consists of all the servers running SCADA software
- Multiple, remotely located local control systems directly control and automate process equipment
- Communication systems connect the servers at the central command center to the remote locations
The main purpose of SCADA is data acquisition.
An ongoing concern with both ICS and SCADA is cybersecurity. In fact, more than 60% of organizations using SCADA or ICS have reported they experienced a breach in those systems.
Not only are SCADA/ICS breaches common, but they also have serious repercussions. Unlike traditional IT networks, OT networks often manage and control systems where a compromise can have potentially devastating consequences.
A compromised IoT device that monitors inventory represents a very different threat than an IoT device monitoring or managing a temperature control system on a 50,000-gallon boiler at a chemical plant.
Want to know more? Tonex offers Industrial Control System and SCADA Cybersecurity Training, a 3-day course that helps participants to support and defend an industrial control system to operate in a threat-free environment and become resilient against emerging cybersecurity threats.
Additionally, Tonex offers nearly three dozen courses in Cybersecurity Foundation. This includes cutting edge courses like:
—Automotive Cybersecurity Training (3 days)
—Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Training (2 days)
—Network Security Training (2 days)
—Software Security Training (2 days)
—ICS Cybersecurity Training (4 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.