Introduction to Cyber-Warfare - Proiect SEMPER FIDELIS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY VS. INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS: WHY TRADITIONAL INFOSEC201Human-machineinterfaceSets parametersRemote diagnosticsand maintenanceManipulatedvariablesControllerControlledvariablesActuatorSensorsProcess inputsControlledprocessProcess outputsFIGURE 11.1A generic diagram of an ICS control loop.the system. Additionally, he also has a remote diagnostics and maintenance system that he uses fortroubleshooting abnormal behavior.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY VS. INDUSTRIAL CONTROLSYSTEMS: WHY TRADITIONAL INFOSEC PRACTICESMAY NOT APPLYOn the surface, an industrial control system may appear to be just another type of informationtechnology system—one that happens to contain additional specialty software to controla certain piece of industrial equipment. However, a report by the National Institute ofStandards and Technology (NIST) points out some clear differences 9 :• Performance. ICS systems typically have hard requirements for delay (how long it takes forinformation to be received) and jitter (the time or phase difference between the data signaland the ideal clock), but less stringent requirements on bandwidth (how much informationis sent through the network). A typical IT system, on the other hand, typically has muchsofter requirements for delay and jitter and often calls for assurances relating to highbandwidth.• Availability. ICS systems, particularly the power grid, are required to continuously delivera service. Typical IT practices such as rebooting computers (which would, in turn, cause atemporary outage) often become unacceptable in an ICS setting.• Risk management requirements. As stated in the “Introduction” section, the McCumberinformation security model states that the primary goals of IT security are to ensureavailability, integrity, and confidentiality of data. A later extension to this model addsauthentication and nonrepudiation as well. Though these are important aspects to