Power plants are more connected, creating new cyberthreats

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a double-edged sword for power plants. On one hand it has offered convenience and more advanced security, but it has also opened the door to threats and attacks that were once not a concern.

Until fairly recently, power plants and SCADA systems were isolated from the rest of the world, said Michael Rothschild, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Indegy. They were not connected to the internet or other systems, making the threat of security incidents very unlikely. Furthermore, the computers used to run industrial processes generally operate for years without any updates or changes.
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