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Evaluation Of The Systems Functions, Vulnerabilities, And Protection

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SCADA Systems is considered a vital aspect of Critical Infrastructures, which is tied to all other Critical Infrastructures. In the modern age where automation is emerging as a normal part of daily function, the need for a system to monitor and control these automated processes is required. While automation yields an overabundance of benefits such as reduced operating costs and efficiency, it is not without flaws. SCADA Systems are like any other program in the sense that it is vulnerable to attacks. As the automation continues to evolve, security threats will parallel the growth and demands innovative protection methods. This paper will provide an overview of SCADA Systems functions, vulnerabilities, and protection suggestions.

What is SCADA and why do we as a society need it? Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are a distributed network over a large geographic area to control industrial automated services. Some examples are the electric energy systems, nuclear energy systems, water and sewage treatment facilities, and transportation systems. Think of a factory with a foreman overseeing production. The foreman is monitoring employee’s activities to ensure the production is as efficient, safe, and of the highest quality possible.
SCADA is a program that could be considered a foreman of all Critical Infrastructures (CI) programs by monitoring and control each individual systems processes. Just like the factory foreman, SCADA Systems

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