scholarly journals Effectiveness of Paired Next Generation Firewalls in Securing Industrial Automation and Control Systems: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-10
Author(s):  
Eddison Jaggernauth ◽  
Sean Rocke
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Industrial Automation ◽  
Corporate Networks ◽  
It Systems ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Automation And Control ◽  
And Control

Industrial automation and control systems (IACS) are oftentimes the backbone of businesses and critical infrastructure (CI) around the world. They underpin control of nuclear plants, refineries, manufacturing and distribution systems. Today, organisations are routinely targeted by cyber-attackers. Cyberattacks have been increasing in frequency and sophistication. This is especially true of those attacks directed against high-profile operations such as petrochemical refineries. Attackers invest considerable time and money to study a target and probe inherent weaknesses, which they eventually attempt, and succeed in some cases, to exploit. Historically, industrial networks were kept separate from corporate networks. However, significant efficiency gains and demands for digital interconnectivity have driven a convergence between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems. The business of cybersecurity has been evolving dramatically, posing significant challenges to management teams, across all industries and business domains. Countries within the Caribbean, such as Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), are by no means an exception given their dependence on the energy sector and supporting IACSs. This paper examines the effectiveness of next generation firewalls (NGFWs) in their defense of Process Control Networks (PCNs) against malware. It focuses on the case of a process plant complex in T&T.

Intrusion and anomaly detection for the next-generation of industrial automation and control systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 50-67
Author(s):  
Luis Rosa ◽  
Tiago Cruz ◽  
Miguel Borges de Freitas ◽  
Pedro Quitério ◽  
João Henriques ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anomaly Detection ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Industrial Automation ◽  
Automation And Control ◽  
And Control

Automated security testing for web applications on industrial automation and control systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 383-401
Author(s):  
Steffen Pfrang ◽  
Anne Borcherding ◽  
David Meier ◽  
Jürgen Beyerer
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Web Applications ◽  
Security Testing ◽  
Industrial Automation ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Automation And Control ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Web

Abstract Industrial automation and control systems (IACS) play a key role in modern production facilities. On the one hand, they provide real-time functionality to the connected field devices. On the other hand, they get more and more connected to local networks and the internet in order to facilitate use cases promoted by “Industrie 4.0”. A lot of IACS are equipped with web servers that provide web applications for configuration and management purposes. If an attacker gains access to such a web application operated on an IACS, he can exploit vulnerabilities and possibly interrupt the critical automation process. Cyber security research for web applications is well-known in the office IT. There exist a lot of best practices and tools for testing web applications for different kinds of vulnerabilities. Security testing targets at discovering those vulnerabilities before they can get exploited. In order to enable IACS manufacturers and integrators to perform security tests for their devices, ISuTest was developed, a modular security testing framework for IACS. This paper provides a classification of known types of web application vulnerabilities. Therefore, it makes use of the worst direct impact of a vulnerability. Based on this analysis, a subset of open-source vulnerability scanners to detect such vulnerabilities is selected to be integrated into ISuTest. Subsequently, the integration is evaluated. This evaluation is twofold: At first, willful vulnerable web applications are used. In a second step, seven real IACS, like a programmable logic controller, industrial switches and cloud gateways, are used. Both evaluation steps start with the manual examination of the web applications for vulnerabilities. They conclude with an automated test of the web applications using the vulnerability scanners automated by ISuTest. The results show that the vulnerability scanners detected 53 % of the existing vulnerabilities. In a former study using commercial vulnerability scanners, 54 % of the security flaws could be found. While performing the analysis, 45 new vulnerabilities were detected. Some of them did not only break the web server but crashed the whole IACS, stopping the critical automation process. This shows that security testing is crucial in the industrial domain and needs to cover all services provided by the devices.

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