Full Description

A recent US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) sponsored WERF/AwwaRF research project, led by EMA, was designed todetermine current data security vulnerabilities and consequences and to quantify vulnerabilities forwater and wastewater utilities. The results of this research project offer utility managers a variety ofvaluable lessons that will be explored in this presentation.While previous automated systems were resilient largely due to complex communication protocols,proprietary real-time operating systems, and limited connectivity, today's technology has leftsupervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and process control (PCS) systems vulnerable to intrusions. At the same time, the information contained inthese systems is necessary to facilitate effective day-to-day management. As part of this project, 10utilities (small to large) from across the United States participated in the research, testing, andvalidation of various recommendations and an assessment tool. Self-analysis by participating utilitiesrevealed a number of shortcomings in existing security procedures. Field studies unveiled evenfurther vulnerabilities that had previously escaped scrutiny during self-analysis.The research project has produced valuable findings for all utilities, results that give managers theinformation needed and tools to protect their core business operation of facilities and infrastructure. Justas important, however, is the discovery that adequate protection of automation technology does notrequire utility managers to forego use of valuable data produced by these systems. Participants will learnwhat steps to take to secure their data while maintaining valuable access that enables more effectiveday-to-day management of the utility.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 03/01/2006 Number of Pages: 7 File Size: 1 file , 200 KB