Firewall Wizards mailing list archives

Re: SCADA


From: Paul Ferguson <fergdawgster () gmail com>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:49:10 -0700

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On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 6:10 PM, Daniel E. Hassler <hassler () speakeasy net>
wrote:

OK - I may have misrepresented what I'm doing. I am not doing true SCADA.
I have a system which is required to report electric meter readings
securely over the internet from remote sites. Traffic is allowed to pass
(only
encrypted) from the Modbus network (which has no control devices) to the
public internet. The gateway is sufficiently secure given the value of
the data. It's low value residential/small business stuff but it is not
supposed to be visible to outside parties so it must travel encrypted.
Authentication is also important as we need to know the data is from the
meter is says it's from. If you've ever purchased anything over the
internet you obviously felt the level of protection offered was
sufficient. I would say these systems are as secure as OpenBSD which is
actually not good enough to allow true SCADA access to the internet. No
remote holes - ever or keep it away from the internet is a good mantra.
Since I don't believe anyone has sufficiently proved they have a system
with zero remote holes ever possible other than a system with zero remote
connections I too would recommend strongly the
latter for true SCADA where perhaps a power grid or nuclear plant are
involved. Common sense.


Famous last words: "Sufficiently secure."

- - ferg

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-- 
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawgster(at)gmail.com
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/
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