How Safe is SCADA?
SCADA, which stands for supervisory control and data acquisition, does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. It allows companies to remotely observe and control processes in a whole range of different areas, whilst ensuring that data is easily collected and collated at the very same time. In short, it can save companies a great deal of time and money, whilst also making it far easier and safer for personnel to carry out their jobs.
It makes businesses safer by removing the need for individuals to have to venture into potentially unsafe environments to observe or record data. But with many stories of hacking these systems being heard from all around the world, whilst SCADA may well make businesses physically safe, does it potentially leave them intellectually unstable?
Ultimately, these control systems are susceptible to the same kind of problems that any other computer program will be – just as computers can find themselves at threat from viruses, so can this kind of electronic automation. Whilst this may mean that intellectual property can be at risk, it may also mean that people outside the company can actually take control of certain processes.
What one has to remember though is that hacking can happen with any computer program, and the biggest question is not whether it can happen but how likely it is to happen.
Ultimately, the chances of such control systems being attacked in this manner is almost nil. Not only would it not be worth the hassle for people to try to infiltrate such systems unless the target in question happened to be involved in a very high profile industry, but the mere knowledge that such systems can be infiltrated will give those such as power plants who are most likely to be attacked the chance to ensure they simply have the necessary security in place to avoid such problems.
The good news is that more people are working to keep such systems safe than are working to attack them and, as such, the chances are that any business will be extremely safe indeed.
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