ICS is a general term used to describe the integration of hardware and software with network connectivity in order to support critical infrastructure. An ICS is a system that handles process control and monitoring for the facility. It will take inputs from sensor and process instruments and provide output based on control functions in accordance […]
Category: Industrial Control Systems (ICS)
Intelligent Electronic Device (IED)
An Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) is a term used in the electric power industry to describe microprocessor-based controllers of power system equipment. It is used by the Energy sector to monitor and control electrical power devices such as circuit breakers, capacitors, and transformers. IED receive data from field sensors (I/O) and power equipment and can […]
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Glossary
Glossary Access Control List (ACL): A list of permissions attached to an object. An ACL specifies which users or system processes are granted access to objects, as well as what operations are allowed on given objects. Application: A software program that runs on your computer. Web browsers, e-mail programs, word processors, games, and utilities are […]
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Acronyms
A&E Alarms and Events ACL Access Control list ACSE Application Control Service Element ACT Access Control List APC Advanced Process Control APDU Application Protocol Data Unit ARP Address Resolution Protocol ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange ASDU Application Service Data Element CEU Continuing Education Unit CCRC Cyclical Redundancy Check […]
ICS Components – Field Devices – Inputs
Sensors, or transmitters, collect data, or input, and are built into control instruments. The sensor may monitor one input point or measure over 100,000 points, such as within large refineries or utility front-end processors. The sensors convert physical parameters, such as temperature, pressure, level, flow, motor speed, valve state, or breaker position to electrical signals. […]
ICS Segments In-Depth
ICS Component – Relationships
Machines installed in industrial plants use a variety of field devices for control and monitoring. These devices connect to field controllers, which connect to Human Machine Interface (HMI). Notice the communication flow of the devices to each other. Copyright: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Common ICS Components – Safety Systems
Safety systems provide protection to the process, physical equipment, or people from harmful situations that may arise during operations. It is a counter action critical in industrial operations in the case of a process goes beyond allowable control parameters.While this would result in a loss of productivity, it would spare the equipment and people harm. […]
Common ICS Components – Field Devices
The instruments and sensors that measure process parameters and the actuators that control the process. This is the interface between the ICS and the physical process, be it the mixing of chemicals, the management of trains, or measuring of pressures in a gas pipeline. This is the point in the system where information is collected […]
Common ICS Components – Field Controllers
The devices that consolidate inputs and outputs, taking the instructions from the operators to make changes in the field. Controllers can be programmed or updated in the field (remotely). These devices were designed as if they were in a “trusted” (the network map should show information about the trusted vs. un-trusted environments) environment. Therefore, when […]