Plant & Facilities Engineering Blog

Plant & Facilities Engineering

The Plant & Facilities Engineering Blog is the place for conversation and discussion about mechanical and electrical systems, automation and instrumentation, maintenance and management, and products & services as they relate to plant and facilities operation. Here, you'll find everything from application ideas, to news and industry trends, to hot topics and cutting edge innovations.

Previous in Blog: Should the U.S. Have More Engineers in Congress?   Next in Blog: Green Manufacturing: Reality or Fad?
Close
Close
Close
4 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

The End of Internet-Enabled SCADA Systems?

Posted July 29, 2010 7:31 AM

Siemens' WinCC SCADA systems are vulnerable to a new Trojan worm that targets Windows operating systems. The worm can steal information, and possibly give control of the computer system over to a hacker in a remote location. Will the emergence of this virus put an end to OEM dreams of making all production equipment Internet-enabled? What does that mean for engineers that need remote access to equipment settings for troubleshooting, upgrades, and installations?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Plant & Facilities Engineering, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Plant & Facilities Engineering today.

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.

"Almost" Good Answers:

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, vote them!
Guru
Engineering Fields - Electromechanical Engineering - Technical Services Manager Canada - Member - Army brat Popular Science - Cosmology - What is Time and what is Energy? Technical Fields - Architecture - Draftsperson Hobbies - RC Aircraft - New Member

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Clive, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 5916
Good Answers: 204
#1

Re: The End of Internet-Enabled SCADA Systems?

07/30/2010 12:19 AM

trojans or no, the customers will still ask for the connectivity, and it is up to the software manufacturers to fix the problems and deliver the products the customer asked for. so no, it won't be the end of internet or connected HMI/Scada systems.

getting off the microsoft tit.. now that would be something else. A better question would be "Can the open source world outperform Microsoft, when it comes to operationg system security?"

Reply Score 1 for Good Answer
Guru

Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Defreestville, NY
Posts: 1072
Good Answers: 87
#2
In reply to #1

Re: The End of Internet-Enabled SCADA Systems?

07/30/2010 1:15 PM

"Can the open source world outperform Microsoft, when it comes to operationg (sic) system security?"

It already has:

http://www.nsa.gov/research/selinux/

__________________
Charlie don't surf.
Reply Score 1 for Good Answer
Guru

Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Large hole formally occupied by furry woodland creature.
Posts: 3385
Good Answers: 97
#3

Re: The End of Internet-Enabled SCADA Systems?

08/01/2010 9:41 AM

Alright, everybody relax, Microsoft is working on a solution......

__________________
CRTL-Z
Reply Score 1 for Good Answer
Power-User
United States - US - Statue of Liberty - Who is John Galt?

Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 166
Good Answers: 3
#4

Re: The End of Internet-Enabled SCADA Systems?

08/02/2010 2:14 PM

Anyone implementing a SCADA solution without an ACL and various other security measures, pretty much deserves what they get.If that means being tried and convicted for criminal negligent homicide; I'm all for it.

"You're doing it wrong! Stop it! Let me show you! Oh you're so stupid!!!" -- anon

__________________
I'd've written a shorter post, but I didn't have the time.
Reply
Reply to Blog Entry 4 comments

"Almost" Good Answers:

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, vote them!
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

chrisg288 (1); stevem (1); tick-tock (1); Unredundant (1)

Previous in Blog: Should the U.S. Have More Engineers in Congress?   Next in Blog: Green Manufacturing: Reality or Fad?

Advertisement