Discovery, infiltration, and denial of service in a process control system wireless network

Process control systems and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems use computers to control physical processes in many critical industries including electric power generation, electric power distribution, gas pipelines, waste treatment, water distribution, and many others. Because process control systems can be spread over large distances, wired connections become infeasible. Commercially available wireless radios are often used in place of wires to connect network nodes. In this paper we provide an overview of process control systems, discuss how process control systems differ from networks commonly found in the information technology domain, demonstrate the ability to detect and infiltrate a wireless radio network used in control systems, and finally, detail a denial of service attack against a process control system. This attack denies feedback from nodes monitoring the controlled physical process and is therefore a dangerous cyber-attack.