Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition, or SCADA for short, helps centrally monitor critical systems and facilities. Therefore, it is essential to take the necessary precautions for critical infrastructures and their security .

Because if precautions are not taken, security risks may occur. Communication networks connecting smart grid devices and systems increase the access points on SCADA, thus increasing the possibility of cyber attacks.

SCADA provides services such as, but not limited to, monitoring, collecting, and processing real-time data. Since they control critical infrastructures, necessary precautions must be taken to protect them from attacks.

Because the basic tasks of these systems are monitoring and surveillance. Therefore, they are designed without considering functions such as security and protection against cyber attacks. There are always vulnerabilities.

Where is SCADA Used?
SCADA is used in industrial automation systems in terms of usage areas . This is a very extensive list and includes:

Natural gas facilities,
Automotive Industry,
Traffic control systems,
Water collection, treatment and distribution facilities,
Electrical installations,
Nuclear facilities,
There are places like this. Therefore, security measures should be taken to protect against cyber attacks.

What are the Critical Components of SCADA?
There are many companies using SCADA systems . There are some basic components to ensure the security of the system. These are as follows;

Server and workstation security
Network operating systems
Network architecture
Enterprise network, internet and peripheral components
Communication systems that connect the control system to remote terminals and different devices
Programmable logic controller
Control system
Remote terminals that provide sensor communication with SCADA
The control panel, which consists of a human and machine interface, is among these.

How can SCADA be protected?
Critical infrastructures and their security are of vital importance to your company. Therefore, if you are using SCADA, some precautions must be taken to cover the weak points of the system. Some security solutions that can be applied are as follows;

Read protection: Reading is only allowed to sections, scripts, special files.
Write protection: Only authorized users can write to the hard disk.
File integrity: Records of operations such as deletion and renaming of files in the system are reported.
Memory protection: Unauthorized code execution is prevented and vulnerabilities are blocked and reported.
Dynamic whitelisting: Unauthorized code and program execution is prevented.
Apart from these, there are also some precautions that can be taken. Some of them are as follows;

Restricting physical access to the SCADA network and devices
Leveraging specific cybersecurity policies for SCADA
Using security policies for each stage
Using logical partitioning within SCADA and enterprise networks
Providing controls to detect malware
Transferring SCADA patches to the system after testing
Thus, your system can become more secure. Our company helps you to establish your SCADA security effectively.