Key management issue in SCADA networks: A review

Abstract

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks have a vital role in Critical Infrastructures (CIs) such as public transports, power generation systems, gas, water and oil industries, so that there are concerns on security issues in these networks. The utilized Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) and Intelligence Electronic Devices (IEDs) in these networks have resource limitations, which make security applications a challenging issue. Efficient key management schemes are required besides lightweight ciphers for securing the SCADA communications. Many key management schemes have been developed to address the tradeoff between SCADA constrain and security, but which scheme is the most effective is still debatable. This paper presents a review of the existing key management schemes in SCADA networks, which provides directions for further researches in this field.

Keywords

• Critical infrastructure security
• Key management scheme
• Network security
• Power system security
• SCADA network