What is SCADA Cybersecurity, and Why is It Important For Manufacturers?

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have long played a vital role in controlling industrial processes in industries such as manufacturing, transportation and oil and gas. Manufacturers leverage SCADA capabilities to program automated control responses, collect data and monitor alarms.

However, SCADA systems’ large attack surfaces make them a prime target for bad actors. Learn why SCADA cybersecurity is more essential than ever and what it takes to close entrenched security gaps.

Why is SCADA cybersecurity important for manufacturers?

SCADA systems’ mission-critical role in manufacturing and energy operations means that a single targeted attack can have significant consequences. For example, in 2015, a group of hackers targeted the SCADA equipment of three energy distribution companies in Ukraine, resulting in nearly a quarter of a million Ukrainians temporarily losing power. In manufacturing, where every second of production time counts, even small disruptions can be costly and harm a company’s bottom line.

What are the common weaknesses in SCADA cybersecurity?

It isn’t just SCADA systems’ ties to vulnerable assets that make them risky from a cybersecurity perspective. Many SCADA networks were initially built to be closed networks, but the rise of IoT and edge computing have broadened their scope. SCADA systems touch a wide range of different hardware and software products, each of which may have different access control requirements. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see poor integration between legacy SCADA systems and modern access control solutions.

The process of improving these integrations can be difficult. Given the manufacturing industry’s low tolerance for downtime, implementing new access control systems has the potential to disrupt operations. As a result, organizations encounter vendor lock. They’ve invested so much into their legacy SCADA systems — and their accompanying access control systems — that moving on from them feels like too much of a gamble. They simply make do with the poor integration, leading to unnecessary security risks and a lack of scalability.

Redefining SCADA cybersecurity through logical access control

While upholding legacy SCADA systems may seem like the right short-term option, migrating to modern solutions is the only way to keep your organization truly secure. While modernization efforts will look different for every organization, an identity access management (IAM) solution can serve as a valuable start, bridging the gap between IT and operational technology (OT) security across your industrial campus.

Incorporating secure credentials and readers into your SCADA systems streamlines logical access control on the plant floor. WAVE ID® Readers enable seamless employee access with a secure passwordless credential, like a smart card, and can be surface-mounted or embedded directly into critical production equipment by OEMs. This gives administrators greater visibility into and control over which operators can access what equipment and when. Besides boosting security and accountability, readers also create a clear audit trail of interactions with the equipment for compliance purposes.

How WAVE ID® RFID readers boost SCADA security

Interoperable readers like WAVE ID make it possible to use the same credentials employees already use to access buildings and other physical areas for all logical access needs, including SCADA systems and beyond. For example, the same credential can be used for:

• Attendance tracking
• Secure printing access
• Shared manufacturing workstation access
• Point of sale (POS) technology in cafeterias
• Conference room access
• Gated recycling areas

The interoperability of WAVE ID readers can also help reduce the risk of disruption, helping remove a key obstacle to updating SCADA security. WAVE ID low/high frequency, BLE and NFC wallet readers can read proximity cards, smart cards, BLE credentials and mobile wallets, which means you can install the readers gradually and still use your old credentials until you’re ready to make the full swap. Throughout this transition, our global support team is here to help you reduce uncertainty and needless disruption, while directing you to the right reader for every piece of equipment.

Fortifying your SCADA cybersecurity defenses for the future of manufacturing

Given the complex cybersecurity threat landscape in manufacturing, relying on legacy solutions to protect a modernized SCADA network shouldn’t be a risk you’re willing to take.

Logical access control solutions, guided by the right IAM framework, provides a stable foundation for modernizing your organization’s approach to SCADA cybersecurity. By leveraging WAVE ID readers, you can better guard against unauthorized access and keep your systems secure.

Discover how rf IDEAS’ readers can cover every endpoint in your industrial campus, starting with your SCADA network.