Security of SCADA systems against cyber–physical attacks

Abstract

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are highly distributed systems used to control and monitor geographically dispersed assets—often scattered over thousands of square kilometers— in which centralized data acquisition is critical to system operation [1]. These large-scale industrial control systems (ICSs) have been playing an extremely important role in most safety-critical infrastructures [2], such as electric power grids, transportation systems, communication networks, oil and gas pipelines, water distribution and irrigation networks, and multiple facilities including heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for buildings, and traffic control systems for airports—the list is long. These safetycritical assets, however, are becoming increasingly susceptible to cyber–physical attacks1 on both physical and cyber layers [3].