University researchers have developed a methodology for enabling networked devices in an industrial control system (ICS) to police each other for abnormal behavior that would indicate a compromise. The idea is to make it possible for devices, such as machinery on a factory assembly line, to spot the problem unit and then isolate it from the network before it can do any damage, researchers from North Carolina State University said Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mo-Yuen Chow, co-author of the research and a professor of electrical and computer engineering, said the concept was like a “community watch,” where neighbors watch each other’s property for burglaries.<\/p>\n
SCADA and PLC systems are used in industries comprising the nation’s critical infrastructure (CI), which includes power generation facilities, oil and gas pipelines, electric power transmitters and defense manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Securing the nation’s critical infrastructure is difficult because most of the electronics and machinery was built before the Internet evolved as a networking protocol in controlling systems. In tackling the problem, NCSU researchers have developed an algorithm that can be deployed in any networked device, either in software or as firmware in a microcontroller.<\/p>\n
The technology would augment traditional security systems used today, such as communication encryption and access controls, said Wente Zeng, a doctoral student and co-author of the research.<\/p>\n
The researchers plan to present their paper (PDF), entitled “Convergence and Recovery Analysis of the Secure Distributed Control Methodology for D-NCS,” at the IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics being held May 27-31 in Taipei, Taiwan.<\/p>\n