Cyber Security Incidents on Critical Infrastructure and Industrial Networks

Abstract

National critical infrastructure and industrial processes are heavily reliant on automation, monitoring and control technologies, including the widely used Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. The growing interconnection of these systems with corporate networks exposes them to cyber attacks, with several security incidents reported over the last few decades. This study provides a classification scheme for categorising security incidents related to critical infrastructure and industrial control systems. The classification scheme is applied to analyse 242 security incidents on critical infrastructure and industrial control networks, which were reported between 1982 and 2014. The results show interesting patterns, with key points highlighted for the purpose of improving the way we plan for and direct efforts toward protecting critical infrastructure and industrial networks.