A first look into SCADA network traffic

Abstract

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks are commonly deployed to aid the operation of critical infrastructures, such as water distribution facilities. These networks provide automated processes that ensure the correct functioning of these infrastructures, in a operation much similar to those of management operations found in traditional Internet Protocol (IP), in particular the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). In this paper we provide a first look into characteristics of SCADA traffic, with the goal of building an empirical foundation for future research, and investigate to what extent the SCADA traffic patterns are similar to SNMP.