How can SCADA security be improved for oil and gas companies

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.energyglobal.com/downstream/special-reports/29052015/How-can-SCADA-security-be-improved-for-oil-and-gas-companies-089/

By Deborah Galea
Manager, OPSWAT.
29/05/2015

According to the recently released 2015 Dell Security Annual Threat 
Report, SCADA attacks are on the rise. The report found that in 2014 the 
number of attacks on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) 
systems doubled compared to the previous year. Most of these attacks 
occurred in Finland, the UK, and the US, probably due to the fact that in 
these countries SCADA systems are more likely to be connected to the 
internet. The Dell Report came on the heels of findings from the US 
Industrial Controls Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) 
showing that energy was the most targeted sector for attack among all 
critical infrastructure providers.

"Since companies are only required to report data breaches that involve 
personal or payment information, SCADA attacks often go unreported," said 
Patrick Sweeney, Executive Director of Dell Security. "This lack of 
information sharing combined with an aging industrial machinery 
infrastructure presents huge security challenges that will continue to 
grow in the coming months and years."

This does not come as a surprise to those in hydrocarbons. Many SCADA and 
industrial control systems (ICS) were built decades ago when cyber 
security was not yet an issue for the industry. There has been an 
inevitable collision as operational technology (OT) systems like SCADA 
come into closer contact with IT management modalities, introducing risks 
as systems not designed for outside connectivity are exposed to the 
internet.

In addition to their importance for hydrocarbons, SCADA systems control 
key functions for other critical infrastructure providers, such as 
utilities, airports and nuclear plants. Successful attacks on SCADA 
systems could potentially cause disruptions in services that we all depend 
on every day. For this reason, SCADA attacks are often politically 
motivated and backed by foreign state actors with motives such as 
industrial espionage and major supply chain disruption.

[...]



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