Secure SCADA framework for the protection of energy control systems

Energy distribution systems are becoming increasingly widespread in today's society. One of the elements that are used to monitor and control these systems are SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems. In particular, these control systems and their complexities, together with the emerging use of the Internet and wireless technologies, bring new challenges that must be carefully considered. Examples of such challenges are the particular benefits of the integration of those new technologies, and also the effects they may have on the overall SCADA security. The main task of this paper is to provide a framework that shows how the integration of different state-of-the-art technologies in an energy control system, such as wireless sensor networks, mobile ad hoc networks, and the Internet, can bring some interesting benefits, such as status management and anomaly prevention, while maintaining the security of the whole system. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.