Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    SCADA Security Experts Call for More Public-Private Collaboration

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    March 2, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      SAN FRANCISCO—Information sharing—or the lack of sharing—has become a prominent point of contention between private corporations and government agencies. The issue is even more of a problem for critical infrastructure providers, control-system experts said at the RSA Conference.

      While there are hubs of activity around security in critical infrastructure, companies tend not to share vulnerability and attack information with each other, a panel of industry and academic experts told attendees. Best practice information on device and network configuration is largely kept in-house, despite the benefits of sharing, said Doug Powell, manager for security, privacy and safety at electric-power generation firm BC Hydro.

      “We’ve had to build our own test environment and test our technology—hack it to find vulnerabilities—before we deployed it,” Powell said. “But we, as an industry, don’t have a good sharing environment, so what we learn—and what others learn—is not necessarily passed along.”

      Unlike the United States, information sharing between the Canadian government and critical infrastructure firms does occur because it does not have to surmount the hurdle of data classification. While the United States is working on getting more companies cleared for classified information, the Canadian utilities already have clearance, Powell said.

      For the past half decade, security researchers have focused on breaking industrial-control systems–such as those that use supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) protocols–and finding vulnerabilities. Only recently, with the attack by Stuxnet and the identification of vulnerable networks connected to the Internet, have critical infrastructure owners really focused on the problem, panelists said.

      Until recently, for example, electric providers worried about securing their operational technology (OT)—the generation and transmission capabilities—rather than their information technology, Powell said. But in the last two years, the concerns have become completely focused on the information technology that monitors and controls such equipment, Powell said.

      While government and critical infrastructure companies used to be able to identify and control the threats to the physical equipment, that is no longer the case. The worry is that “you can manipulate OT to destroy a dam and you can do it halfway around the world,” he said.

      The danger to SCADA and other operational networks will likely get worse, said Jose Fernandez, assistant professor in the Department of Computer and Software Engineering for Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. Only a certain few actors would want to hack into power networks and harm critical infrastructure, but with consumer power being monitored and controlled through the smart grid, criminal hackers will likely become more interested in finding ways of breaking into the network and stealing money.

      “What I’m worried about is, that with these smart grids, there will be an incentive to hack the network,” Fernandez said. “Money makes the world go round–not nuclear weapons (and other forms of massive destruction) but money.”

      While improving the security of operational devices is important, control systems are updated and modernized very slowly, said Marcelo Branquinho, director of TI Safe’s Security Automation Training.

      “What they are working on now are the next generation of devices, but many companies are planning to use their devices for the next 20 years,” Branquinho said.

      In that environment, critical infrastructure providers need to work together to find the best ways to secure their insecure, legacy systems, he said.

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×