Cyber Security Issues for Performance Monitoring Systems

Automated data collection and management systems are increasingly used to collect, manage and report performance monitoring data and related information from sensors placed in dams, levees, tunnels and other constructed facilities. Sometimes one or more of these sensors is used to control some aspect of the facility, such as operating a spillway gate. Increasingly these monitoring systems are networked and connected to the public Internet system. This connectivity makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This paper describes the types of vulnerabilities for typical automated instrumentation systems, discusses potential consequences of these acts, and outlines practices that can be taken to minimize the consequences of cyber-attacks.