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internet security tHreAt rePOrt GOVernMent 2013

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p. 149<br />

Symantec Corporation<br />

Internet Security Threat Report <strong>2013</strong> :: Volume 18<br />

VULNERABILITy TRENDS<br />

SCADA Vulnerabilities<br />

Background<br />

This metric will examine the SCADA (Supervisory Control and<br />

Data Acquisition) <strong>security</strong> threat landscape. SCADA represents<br />

a wide range of protocols and technologies for monitoring<br />

and managing equipment and machinery in various sectors of<br />

critical infrastructure and industry. This includes—but is not<br />

limited to—power generation, manufacturing, oil and gas, water<br />

treatment, and waste management. Therefore, the <strong>security</strong><br />

of SCADA technologies and protocols is a concern related to<br />

national <strong>security</strong> because the disruption of related services can<br />

result in the failure of infrastructure and potential loss of life,<br />

among other consequences.<br />

Methodology<br />

This discussion is based on data surrounding publicly known<br />

vulnerabilities affecting SCADA technologies. The purpose<br />

of the metric is to provide insight into the state of <strong>security</strong><br />

research in relation to SCADA systems. To a lesser degree, this<br />

may provide insight into the overall state of SCADA <strong>security</strong>.<br />

Vulnerabilities affecting SCADA systems may present a threat<br />

to critical infrastructure that relies on these systems. Due to the<br />

potential for disruption of critical services, these vulnerabilities<br />

may be associated with politically motivated or state-sponsored<br />

attacks. This is a concern for governments and/or enterprises<br />

that are involved in the critical infrastructure sector. While<br />

this metric provides insight into public SCADA vulnerability<br />

disclosures, due to the sensitive nature of vulnerabilities<br />

affecting critical infrastructure there is likely private <strong>security</strong><br />

research conducted by SCADA technology and <strong>security</strong> vendors.<br />

Symantec does not have insight into any private research<br />

because the results of such research are not publicly disclosed.<br />

Data<br />

The number of SCADA vulnerabilities decreased dramatically<br />

in 2012. In 2012, there were 85 public SCADA vulnerabilities, a<br />

massive decrease when compared to the 129 vulnerabilities in<br />

2011.<br />

Commentary<br />

Since the emergence of Stuxnet in 2010, the <strong>security</strong> of SCADA<br />

systems has been an area of concern. SCADA systems are<br />

generally not designed to be connected to the public Internet,<br />

but as Stuxnet demonstrated, this is not always a guarantee<br />

of <strong>security</strong> as locally connected networks may become<br />

compromised and USB devices may also be used as an infection<br />

vehicle. As new vulnerabilities are discovered, the importance<br />

of providing a fix quickly is even greater for SCADA systems,<br />

but they can sometimes remain unpatched for longer than<br />

traditional software vulnerabilities.

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