Integrated Cyber Risk Analysis for SCADA System

by Siva Prasad M.V.V.

SCADA is an acronym that stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It refers to a system that collects data from various transmitters, sensors at a plant or in other remote locations and then transmits this data to a central computer which then manages the data to monitor and control the processes. The SCADA systems are used to monitor and control chemical, transport, municipal water supply systems. These systems are also used in offshore oil and gas process plants, steel making, nuclear and power generation and distribution systems, but also deployed in some research facilities such as nuclear fusion experimental labs. The sizes of such plants/facilities range from a few thousand to several thousands of input/output (I/O) channels. Industrial processes existing in the physical world are monitored and regulated by computer-controlled systems called Industrial Control Systems (ICS).