The term covers several architectures and component types, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human–machine interfaces (HMIs), and supporting engineering and communications systems.
ICS environments turn digital logic into physical action. A command may open a valve, adjust a motor, regulate temperature, or stop a production line. Security decisions must therefore account for process state, safety functions, timing, operator awareness, and the possibility that loss of view can be as dangerous as loss of control.
Key points
Primary purposeMaintain monitoring and control of an industrial process.
Typical componentsControllers, sensors, actuators, HMIs, historians, engineering workstations, supervisory servers, and industrial networks.
Security focusAuthorized control, trustworthy measurements, deterministic operation, safe failure, and recoverable configurations.
Important limitationGeneric IT asset assumptions and response actions may be unsafe when applied without process and engineering context.