I may be in the minority, but I actually try to make the most of the communications statistics features in a SCADA system. I have been tracking how many polls, replies, and timeouts are on each of the channels of our SCADA system. For some reason, nobody with any security experience seems to mention how […]
Category: General Topic
Monitoring RTU flags for SCADA Integrity
I wrote that there would be more about this subject in my earlier blog about self integrity monitoring at the Physical Layer of a SCADA system. In this discussion I will outline some things we’re doing to test for self integrity at the RTU level of a SCADA system. Some of you may know that […]
What Features Should an RTU Have?
People may not realize that the concept of the RTU is morphing. In decades past, we were merely looking for something that could report an event. But the goal-posts have moved. So what should an RTU really look like these days? Let’s look at some features: First, the RTU needs to have a clock. As […]
Uninterruptible Power Systems? HAH!
I’m ranting again. This is a recurring plague for me. Allow me to just get this out of my system right now: DELIVER ME FROM THOSE AWFUL OFFICE-GRADE UPS BOXES! I hate the damned things. Why? Because some idiot who can’t be bothered to deal with the more difficult issues just grabs one off the […]
Lessons from the film “Rogue 1” on the importance of security in the design process
Commander #1: We’ve analyzed their attack, sir, and there is a danger. Should I have your ship standing by? Gov. Tarkin: Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances. – Quote from the film Star Wars IV (1) The Star Wars film epic in addition to providing good entertainment raises some […]
Patching and Upgrading PLC Systems
A certain well known vendor of PLC equipment has been earning some heat from me recently. I’m not mentioning names because frankly, all of these big name vendors are facing the same problems. The issue is that even if we didn’t find sufficient reason to patch programs in a PLC, we’re finding that we have […]
Physical Layer Concerns
One of the more troublesome aspects of a control system is detecting when the I/O is broken versus a security problem of some sort. This is one of the keys between knowing that you’re being hacked versus having some sort of hardware failure. With that in mind, these are some measures I have found to […]
Raising cybersecurity awareness during a seminar on the future of energy policy and economy is not an easy thing to do.
“Although you cross the Atlantic for years and have ice reported and never see it, at other times it’s not reported and you do see it.” – Charles Lightoller, Titanic Second Officer (speaking at the public inquiry into the sinking) In one of my recent lectures on “The cybersecurity dimension of critical energy infrastructure” I […]
Thoughts on possible misconceptions over the cybersecurity of the energy sector
“The pump don’t work, cause the vandals took the handles” – Bob Dylan The use of high technology (information technology and telecommunications) has entered almost every aspect of our lives. You name a sector and it is there: finance, trade, energy, communications, transportation, even education and healthcare. High tech is what modern society is built […]
Proposing innovative solutions to a problem which will require even more solutions is not a good way to go
– After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved. – Italian proverb In an earlier blog I wrote about the importance of answering the key questions in developing a strategy to secure a critical asset (1). I could see the consequences of not taking the time to fully comprehend these […]