In the twenty-first century, the ability to put together custom electronic devices has become much more accessible to smaller companies, and even the private user. With the open nature of these platforms, potential developers can start learning systems easily, and do not need a massive capital output to do so.

In our modern world, Ethernet and TCP/IP have become the de facto standards in most mission-critical control and monitoring applications, largely due to the design of these protocol suites around the Open System Interconnect (OSI) model. However, the freedom and flexibility of being built around such an open system philosophy, while playing a large part in the success of Ethernet, also allows for many vulnerabilities which can be exploited by attackers.

The network is effectively the nervous system of a modern site, allowing protection, control, monitoring, security and safety devices to intercommunicate in a quick, reliable and efficient fashion.

Ethernet networks have become a standard for communications networks for mission-critical applications. However, the Ethernet and TCP/IP standards, and their attached protocols, are quite complex and ...

A smart grid is a utility grid that uses an Ethernet communications network to link various remote sites and control rooms into a single logical entity. This network architecture can then be used automatically and remotely to gather and act on information.

Moving to a smart grid solution does create more security concerns that need to be addressed.

One of the greatest benefits of using TCP/IP networks for automation, monitoring and control functions is the fact that they allow us to join various sites together no matter the physical distance between them.

Using a secure access manager.

In today’s world of automation on utility and industrial sites, two components have become key. The first is the communications network, consisting of routers, switches and often serial device servers. ...