# What is an Industrial Control System (ICS)?

> An industrial control system (ICS) is a system used to monitor and control an industrial process.

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## Content

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 purpose:** Maintain monitoring and control of an industrial process.
- **Typical components:** Controllers, sensors, actuators, HMIs, historians, engineering workstations, supervisory servers, and industrial networks.
- **Security focus:** Authorized control, trustworthy measurements, deterministic operation, safe failure, and recoverable configurations.
- **Important limitation:** Generic IT asset assumptions and response actions may be unsafe when applied without process and engineering context.

### Related terms

[Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition/>) · [Operational technology (OT) security](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/operational-technology-security/>) · [Programmable logic controller (PLC)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/programmable-logic-controller/>) · [Human-machine interface (HMI)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/human-machine-interface/>) · [Network segmentation](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/network-segmentation/>)

### Sources

[NIST glossary: Industrial Control System](https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/industrial_control_system) · [NIST SP 800-82r3: Guide to Operational Technology Security](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/82/r3/final)

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