What are industrial control systems (ICS)?
An industrial control system (ICS) is a set of systems, equipment, and devices used to monitor, control, and automate industrial processes. These systems are critical in manufacturing, energy, water treatment, and other infrastructure. They enable safe and efficient operation of processes.
There are several types of ICS systems, the most common of which are supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and distributed control systems (DCS). Oftentimes, actual ICS implementations are a hybrid of SCADA and DCS.
What is ICS security and why is ICS security important?
ICS security refers to the strategies, technologies, and practices used to protect industrial control systems from cyber threats, unauthorized access, and other security risks. Given ICSs are often responsible for critical processes in manufacturing and infrastructure, their security is critical to ensure safety, reliability, and continuity.
Common ICS security challenges
External threats and targeted attacks
External threats in ICS security refers to risks originating outside the organization or industrial environment that can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of ICS components. Common external threats include malware and ransomware, phishing attacks, nation-state actors, hacktivists, insider threats with external influence, supply chain attacks, and more.
Internal threats
Internal threats in ICS security refers to risks posed by individuals or processes within the organization or facility that can compromise security, safety, or functionality of the system. These threats can be intentional or unintentional and are significant because insiders often have direct access to critical systems and privileged information. Common examples include malicious insiders, errors caused by well-meaning employees, or third-party risks from vendors, suppliers, or even maintenance personnel.
Human error
Human error refers to mistakes or oversights by employees, operators, or other individuals that compromise safety, security, or functionality of ICS environments. Examples include configuration errors, improper patching, neglecting security protocols, unauthorized device usage, and/or data entry errors.
High availability requirements
ICS systems need to remain operational and accessible, even in the presence of hardware failures, software issues, cyberattacks, or other disruptions. To have high availability, ICS systems need to plan for redundancy, failover mechanisms, disaster recovery, patch management without downtime, cyber resilience, monitoring and alerts, secure communication, and more.
Insecure proprietary protocols
Insecure proprietary protocols in ICS security are common. Legacy devices and machines—all with their own protocols—lack modern security features like encryption, authentication, and integrity verification. These protocols were often designed for reliability and real-time performance in isolated environments; however, never designed for security in connected or internet-facing environments.
Focus on detection over prevention
Oftentimes, ICS security is configured to detect attacks rather than control them. This is a result of ICS requiring high availability, as the possibility of lawful operations being prevented is a significant worry.
Kepware+
Kepware+ securely connects to legacy and modern devices, sends data to ICS systems or the cloud, and manages connectivity securely at scale.