Glossary · OT cybersecurity
Industrial control system (ICS)
Also known as: ICS, Control system
German: Industrielles Steuerungssystem (ICS)
In industrial automation, an industrial control system (ICS) is a general term for the control systems and associated instrumentation used to operate and automate industrial processes, including PLCs, distributed control systems (DCS), SCADA systems, HMIs and safety instrumented systems.
- OT security
In one sentence
An industrial control system (ICS) is the umbrella term for PLCs, DCS, SCADA, HMIs and related systems that operate and automate industrial processes.
Example
The ICS of a chemical plant consists of a DCS for continuous control, a safety instrumented system for emergency shutdown and SCADA for remote tank farms.
How it applies
- Engineering: ICS covers very different architectures, from a single machine PLC to a plant-wide DCS. Security measures must fit the architecture and its real-time and availability constraints. NIST SP 800-82 is a widely used guide.
- Operation: Many ICS components run for decades and were designed without security in mind. Compensating measures such as segmentation and monitoring are common where components cannot be patched.
- Safety: Safety instrumented systems and safety controllers are part of the ICS but must stay independent enough from basic control that a compromise or failure of one does not defeat the other.
- Documentation: Technical documentation should name the ICS components a product interacts with and the interfaces it uses, so that the operator can place it correctly in the security architecture.
ICS vs. OT
Operational technology (OT) is the broader category of hardware and software that monitors or controls physical processes, including building automation and transport systems. ICS focuses on industrial process control.