- [Instructor] Many of today's industrial processes
depend upon computer systems
to make them work more efficiently and effectively.
The many advances in technology
that have sped up manufacturing,
power plant monitoring,
wastewater treatment,
and other industrial processes
require the use of these computers.
Industrial control systems,
or ICS systems,
are the devices and systems
that control industrial production and operation.
They include systems that monitor electrical, gas, water
and other energy infrastructure and production operations,
as well as the systems that control manufacturing plants,
industrial facilities, logistics operations
and other critical infrastructure elements.
You'll find ICS systems
in a wide variety of modern applications,
including use as building and facility automation systems,
workflow automation systems
and process automation systems.
Hackers love to target industrial control systems
for a number of reasons.
First, a successful attack on an ICS system
can have dramatic implications.
Successful ICS attacks could disable a nation's power grid
or damage or destroy parts of a city's infrastructure.
Second, industrial control systems
are often not as well secured
as traditional computing infrastructure.
And third, their high requirements for stability
and continuous operations
mean that they are less likely
to be consistently patched and updated.
In fact, some ICS system manufacturers
advise their customers to not update control systems
and sensor devices.
This makes protecting SCADA and DCS systems
an even greater challenge
requiring additional planning to overcome.
Let's discuss three different types
of industrial control systems:
supervisory control and data acquisition,
or SCADA systems,
distributed control systems,
abbreviated DCS,
and programmable logic controllers,
known more simply as PLCs.
SCADA systems, like the one shown here,
are very common in industries
that require remote monitoring
of their infrastructure and production systems.
These include natural gas pipelines,
power production, distribution infrastructure
and water supply control systems.
SCADA systems typically include individual remote sensors
known as remote telemetry units.
These sensors provide reports back
to the central data collection system
and provide some level of local control.
The central system then uses the information
provided by the remote units
to control the entire grid or pipeline
of production and control systems.
Attacks against SCADA systems
can target the feedback provided
to the central control system
or they can cause the local sensor
and control unit to perform an incorrect action.
Distributed control systems, such as the one shown here,
are frequently used to control water
and wastewater treatment and distribution systems,
power plants, refineries and production lines
such as the ones that make cars, electronics
and even food products throughout the world.
DCS systems use a combination
of sensors and feedback systems
to control and adjust processes as they receive feedback.
Much like SCADA systems,
an attack against a DCS system
could be as simple as providing incorrect feedback
resulting in a shutdown, over production
or delay in the system at a critical time.
Programmable logic controllers, like the one shown here,
are special purpose computers
designed to handle specialized input and output systems.
PLCs are typically designed to handle difficult environments
with special temperature, vibration
or other requirements while still functioning.
PLCs are designed to handle and respond
to specialized input and output reliably
to ensure that the processes they support
occur without interruption or delay.
PLCs connect to a human machine interface
to provide interfaces that can interact
with their human operators.
Typically, PLCs don't have a monitor
or other interface themselves
beyond buttons or lights that are built into them.
PLCs are commonly used in both SCADA and DCS systems.
PLCs often use a specialized communication protocol
known as Modbus.
The Modbus protocol allows simple communications
over the serial interfaces
popular in industrial applications.
The results of a SCADA system attack can be devastating.
In this report, a hacker,
irritated because he didn't receive a job
from an Australian city,
used his knowledge
about their water treatment software and systems
to release millions of liters of raw sewage
into local parks, rivers
and even the grounds of a local hotel.
The Australian EPA said that marine life died,
the creek water turned black
and the stench was unbearable for residents.
The attacker in this case used inside knowledge
because he had previously worked for the company
that installed the system.
When the police arrested him,
they discovered that he had made 46 attempts
to hack into the system
and that his car contained the radio and computer equipment
necessary to wage this attack.
There's one other term that you should know for the exam.
Operational technology, or OT,
is a broad category of systems
that are used to manage any type of operations.
Industrial control systems
are the major type of OT in use today.