Robust ICSs Critical for Guarding Aqainst Cyber Threats

摘要

The stakes just got higher. We have been seeing a crescendo of reports recently in the mainstream media about concerns regarding cyber attacks and malicious code that have the potential to impact critical infrastructure such as our water and wastewater systems and operations. Cyber security is becoming a household term and hardly a day goes by that we don't hear or read about a cyber incident affecting computer networks somewhere. In July, malicious software code was discovered that specifically targets industrial control systems (ICSs), such as the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems used at utilities to control the flow and treatment of water/wastewater. Stuxnet (Falliere et al, 2010), as it has been dubbed, exploits Windows vulnerabilities and infects its intended target with a malicious worm.