Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition or SCADA refers to a large-scale, distributed measurement (and control) system. SCADA systems are used to monitor or to control chemical or transport processes, in municipal water supply systems, to control electric power generation, transmission and distribution, gas and oil pipelines, and other distributed processes.

Recently, the security of SCADA-based systems has come into question as they are increasingly seen as extremely vulnerable to cyberwarfare/cyberterrorism attacks on several fronts. In particular, security researchers are concerned about:

• the lack of concern about security and authentication in the design, deployment and operation of existing SCADA networks
• the mistaken belief that SCADA systems have the benefit of security by obscurity through the use of specialized protocols and proprietary interfaces
• the mistaken belief that SCADA networks are secure because they are supposedly physically secured
• the mistaken belief that SCADA networks are secure because they are supposedly disconnected from the Internet

The mission critical nature of a large number of SCADA systems, such attacks could, in a worst case scenario, cause massive

financial losses through loss of data or actual physical destruction, misuse or theft, even loss of life, either directly or indirectly. Whether such concerns will cause a move away from the use of existing SCADA systems for mission critical applications towards more secure architectures and configurations remains to be seen, given that at least some influential people in corporate and governmental circles believe that the benefits and lower initial costs of SCADA based systems still outweigh potential costs and risks. Activeworx addresses these risks with it’s extensive correlation and reporting abilities.
Some of the largest energy and utility companies rely on Activeworx solutions to meet the difficult challenges of gaining visibility into insider threats, fully protecting their perimeters against malicious attack and managing compliance and data retention requirements.
Activeworx solutions deliver the flexibility and intelligence required to accurately identify and mitigate internal and external threats.

Activeworx SCADA Benefits

• Correlation - In-depth correlation capabilities and real-time identification of high-risk activity
• Integration - easy integration with proprietary technologies 
• Reporting - Comprehensive report templates to assess the effectiveness of internal controls 
• Visualization - Extensive graphical dashboards for continuous compliance oversight
• Rapid and auditable network configuration and threat response capabilities
• ROI - Typical return on investments (ROI) of 1-3 months based on reduced or eliminated consulting, personnel and infrastructure costs. 
• Network Data - Easily deliver one-click network security reporting that provides relevant data in an intuitive format
• Monitor and Report - Separately monitor and report on events that involve regulated systems
• Automate - Easily increase protection while eliminating manual processes 
• Efficiency - Save valuable security analyst resources from tedious, manual tasks 
• Oversight - Enables active oversight, including automated reporting for HIPAA audit and compliance
• Log Management - Log all network events for long-term, auditable proof of compliance