I develop control systems for power generation. Current trends are towards more and more automation, interconnectedness, collecting of business information and

I develop control systems for power generation. Current trends are towards more and more automation, interconnectedness, collecting of business information and integration with smart grids. None of this should take place over the public internet... Private fiber or microwave would be nice, but isn't in the budget for many operations, so VPN over the internet is the compromise. Stuxnet was spread by infected USB keys, so even a totally separate network wouldn't have helped them there. PLCs and HMI software are a security nightmare, 30 years of legacy protocols, hardware, and client deployments to support and now all of the sudden it is under attack and no network can be considered safe.