Common Threats to Industrial Control Systems
An industrial control system is a cooperative system; that describes different GE Industrial controls and associated instrumentation. Moreover, it includes the devices, systems, networks, and rules used to work and automate manufacturing processes. Depending on the industry, each functions differently and can build to manage tasks proficiently electronically.
The devices and procedures used in an ICS are in nearly every industrial sector and critical infrastructure. Moreover, it includes the manufacturing, energy, transportation, and water treatment industries.
GE Industrial Controls Importance, You know
GE Industrial Controls refer to a collection of individual control systems and hardware that function together to automate industrial processes. Each industry, like manufacturing, chemical processing, and food production, will operate ICSs that are useful for their procedures.
Industrial controls goal to make operations more efficient and separate, with minimal input from human workers. Additionally, industrial control can come in various forms and types, like supervisory control, data acquisition systems, and process control systems.
What is the architecture of GE industrial control systems?
The main components of this architecture are:
A control loop consists of actuators like valves, switches, and motors; sensors detect the status associated with the industrial process. For example, temperature, pressure, flow rates, etc. And a controller that achieves the actuators based on sensor readings and operative input.
- A human-machine interface allows operators to monitor the controlled process and affect it
- A data historian that records all process control activity to allow reporting at multiple levels
- Remote diagnostics and maintenance permit GE industrial controls support staff and retailers access to diagnose and correct operative problems.
Industrial control systems support the critical national infrastructure and are essential for the industry’s success like:
- electricity production and distribution
- food production
- water supply and treatment
- telecommunications
- oil and gas production and supply
- chemical and pharmaceutical production
- manufacturing of works and finished products
- paper and pulp production.
Industries disruption can have a rapid and escalating effect, exacerbated by the high-level interdependence between the critical sectors.
Benefits:
Generally, industries have different manufacturing controls for electronic applications. However, any infrastructure and regions of production, treatment of water, transportation, and power management require other GE industrial controls. Industrial Control Systems have an organization of many classes regarding their control actions.
Increased Health and Safety
In general, an industrial control system’s primary advantage is health and safety. Understanding the environment where workers can dispatch to or enter can give you the critical edge in keeping them safe.
For instance, sensors can relay information across the DMR Tier 3 network in a mining environment. However, it can report if the mine is stable or if harmful chemicals are in the air. With this information, you can take the correct and safe course of action from there.
Minimization of threat or exposure
The second benefit of operating industrial control system is controlling and minimizing threats or exposure created by a failure or fault.
When the power line goes down, an industrial control system can detect this, particularly if a monitor can alert that a pole is down. Industrial controls warn workers for it and can fault areas remotely isolated and turned off to protect people. Therefore, it includes workers and the public in general.
Protection of Assets
Protecting assets is the third significant benefit, and it can protect assets through prevention. For example, when a fault is there, like an overvoltage condition, it minimizes the exposure that transformers downstream have to overvoltage.
Some transformers are multimillion-dollar properties; avoiding an overvoltage condition can protect assets. In understanding the transformer’s exposure to overvoltage, you can get the same equivalent life cycle out of the investment. Moreover, managing load or decreasing the load threshold if it has seen overvoltage many times.
