This post covers what security measures teams need to understand and how time series monitoring can help turn SCADA's weaknesses into a security advantage.

InfluxDB is a time-series database platform for collecting, storing, and analyzing time-stamped data, offering tools for monitoring, observability, and IoT applications. From this resource users can learn about time-series data modeling, querying, and visualization to monitor and analyze their systems' performance and behavior in real-time.

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SCADA systems controlling critical infrastructure face growing cybersecurity threats as IT/OT network convergence exposes legacy systems never designed for internet-connected environments. Key challenges include availability-first priorities that prevent aggressive patching, decades-old hardware running unsupported software, insecure industrial protocols like Modbus and DNP3, and the myth of air-gapped networks. Recommended security strategies include network segmentation with DMZ zones, complete OT asset inventory, strong access controls, OT-aware patch management, deep packet inspection for industrial protocols, and tailored incident response plans. A central argument is that SCADA's inherent process predictability can be turned into a security advantage through continuous time series monitoring. Baselining normal sensor, PLC, and network behavior allows detection of process manipulation, anomalous commands, and cross-domain attack patterns. InfluxDB is positioned as superior to relational databases and SIEMs for this use case due to its high write throughput, native time-based query functions, and built-in tiered data retention policies.

A Practical Guide to SCADA Security

The stakes for SCADA security have never been higher

Why a time series database beats a SIEM or relational database for OT security data