Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

SCADA is of course the protocol that utilities such as gas, electric, and telecoms use to control the equipment they have to manage. Think of a simple way to check a temperature or voltage reading and report back as well as set values on switches, pumps, etc. It’s easy. In the olden days SCADA devices were connected by phone lines and dedicated circuits. Today of course they are connected to IP networks that are often also connected to the Internet. Just to get a feeling for the type of device that can be controlled via SCADA check out this awesome movie of an electrical gate being tripped.

Source and more info: zdnet

Verano announced that its Real-Time Application Platform (RTAP) on Linux is now available with a Windows client, Visualizer for RTAP on Linux. Verano’s highly scalable, mission-critical SCADA application now has the reliability of a Linux server combined with the flexibility and familiarity of a Windows-based operator interface available on low-cost, high performance hardware.

RTAP is a proven supervisory control platform running in thousands of industrial installations worldwide for companies such as British Energy, California Water Service Company, Enbridge Pipelines, RWE and Shell. From systems that manage the world’s longest petroleum and natural gas pipelines to automated systems for distributing drinking water to more than six million people in London, RTAP is an industrial-strength automation solution for critical infrastructure with large scale, dynamic processes.

Verano has made this reliable control platform even more operator-friendly with a Windows client. Visualizer for RTAP on Linux was developed to meet the needs of diverse clients around the world who need the power and security of RTAP on Linux servers, but want the versatility of Windows for their operators.

Source and more info: automation

Tenable Network Security, Inc., a leading developer of security management solutions and creator of the popular and award-winning Nessus 3 vulnerability scanner, announced today the immediate general availability of a set of Nessus 3 plugins for detection of vulnerabilities common to SCADA networks. The SCADA plugins are available for download by Tenable Direct Feed subscribers and Tenable Security Center customers. The addition of SCADA plugins for Nessus will benefit organizations worldwide that are facing increased scrutiny and legislation for protection of critical infrastructure networks. The SCADA plugins were developed through a partnership with Digital Bond, Inc., a security consulting and research practice with special expertise in SCADA systems.

In addition to offering SCADA support for the market leading network vulnerability scanner, Nessus 3, Tenable also offers a Passive Vulnerability Scanner (PVS). Similar SCADA plugins for the PVS have been available since mid-2006. These offer no impact to the monitored network and effectively identify all devices which communicate via Modbus, ICCP and DNP3 protocols.

“Control system applications and devices can suffer from the same classes of vulnerabilities as IT applications and devices such as missing control system security patches, unchanged default passwords, and weak configurations. The Nessus plugins in the new SCADA category represent the first tool to identify these vulnerabilities and will also help identify unknown or rogue SCADA applications on the network,” stated Dale Peterson of Digital Bond.

“The SCADA plugins allow organizations, which rely heavily on control systems, to develop an effective risk-based security plan designed to protect their valuable infrastructure,” explained Ron Gula, CEO of Tenable Network Security. “Industries which rely on these systems include, but are not limited to, electric utilities, water treatment facilities, natural gas and petro-chemical companies.”

Source and more info: businesswire

Tenable Network Security released on Tuesday 32 plugins to allow its free–but no longer open-source–Nessus vulnerability scanner the ability to search for flaws in common supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.

The plugins allow systems administrators to scan the computer systems that run critical infrastructure, such as power networks and water-treatment facilities, for vulnerabilities. The updates, which can be used with Nessus 3, are the fruit of a four-month partnership between Tenable and infrastructure security firm Digital Bond.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg on what is possible,” Dale Peterson, CEO of Digital Bond, said in a blog post.

While the United States has focused on securing SCADA systems, manufacturers of the systems are not practiced in handling flaw disclosure and mitigating vulnerabilities. When Digital Bond outed a significant vulnerability earlier this year, the disclosure irked SCADA system vendors.

Source and more info: securityfocus

Telvent GIT S.A., the Global RealTime IT Company, has been selected by Williams Gas Pipeline (Williams) to upgrade the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems controlling its Northwest and Transco pipelines from OASyS 5.2UX to OASyS DNA. The Northwest pipeline SCADA upgrade will take place in 2006, followed by the Transco pipeline SCADA upgrade in 2007.

Telvent was awarded the contract following a co-engineering project that involved defining the scope, plan and expectations for each of the upgrades. The actual upgrades will be performed using migration tools that will allow Williams to reuse much of the intellectual investment it has made in its existing SCADA systems and will include the implementation of Telvent’s gas applications including Gas Device Interface (GDI).

Williams’ SCADA requirements include qualities such as expandability, flexibility, supportability, extendibility, enhanced security and audit-ability. Not only is OASyS DNA a flexible, field-proven system that will be able to grow as Williams’ needs change, but it is also a highly secure system with a single sign-on implementation, tools designed to track and manage changes, and the ability to easily audit and report these changes in response to internal and external review. As expressed by Manuel Sánchez Ortega, Telvent’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: “Telvent strives to maximize the value it provides to its clients by providing them with the latest advances in information technology along with options for implementing that technology and world class support. OASyS DNA’s robust, secure and modular design will allow Williams to improve the operation of its pipelines and reduce its operating costs over the long term.”

Source and more info: marketwire

Opto 22, a developer and manufacturer of hardware and software for industrial automation, remote monitoring, data acquisition, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, and M2M Data Corporation, an Internet-based Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) leader, have developed a technology alliance to provide a complete hardware and service platform for customers seeking comprehensive monitoring and management of their fixed and mobile assets.

Under their new agreement, Opto 22 and M2M Data Corp will deliver remote monitoring and data acquisition solutions to customers by providing enhanced communication to remote, mobile, and fixed assets. This communication is enabled via connections from Opto 22 SNAP PACs to the M2M Data Corp iSCADA® web-based monitoring and data management portal. The resulting solution offers an alternative to proprietary SCADA and telemetry systems commonly used in several industrial sectors. It also reduces the cost of deploying asset management-type applications by relieving customers from having to source and assemble the required hardware, software, communications, and other components piece by piece.

“With our long history of providing interfaces to virtually any mechanical, electrical or electronic asset, Opto 22 has established an unequaled reputation in the M2M market as a preferred hardware provider and business partner,” states Opto 22 Vice President Bob Sheffres. “We anticipate that our new alliance with M2M Data Corporation will help extend the use of our SNAP PAC systems into the this emerging market while giving customers the opportunity to design their applications knowing that they have an integrated and proven hardware, communications, and software solution in place.”

Source and more info: emediawire