Emergency Plan - Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority

SCADA Failure / Cyber-Attack
EVENT SPECIFIC GUIDELINES 9 (ESG-9)
SCADA FAILURE / CYBER-ATTACK
3.2.28. SITUATION
GSWSA utilizes Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), sometimes
referred to as telemetry, throughout the water and wastewater systems.
SCADA is used to monitor a number of parameters at the wastewater lift stations, such
as power outage, pump failure, high level in the Wet Well, etc.
SCADA is used to monitor a number of parameters at the wastewater treatment plants,
such as power outage, pump failure, high tank/basin level, chlorine leak, etc.
SCADA is used to monitor a number of parameters at the water treatment plant and
remote well and/or tank sites, such as power outage, plant shutdown, pump failure,
chlorine leak, etc. It is also used to control many aspects of the water plant, including
starting / stopping pumps, opening/closing valves, etc.
SCADA is used to monitor and control the rate and volume of supplemental water
being provided to other utilities, and to monitor certain water quality parameters.
SCADA monitoring and control signals are transmitted to and from remote sites via an
800 MHz radio system.
3.2.29. THREAT or HAZARD INFORMATION
A failure of the SCADA system would result in a loss of the above remote
functionality.
A cyber-attack, or “hacker”, taking control of the SCADA system would give them
remote control over many aspects of GSWSA’s water treatment plant and water system.
Another potential scenario involves a physical attack on our facilities being “hidden”
by forcing all SCADA conditions to appear normal or preventing an Operator from
responding to investigate alarm conditions. This could significantly delay our detection
of unauthorized access to or even damage to our facilities.
3.2.30. CONCEPT of OPERATIONS
GSWSA employs several layers of security for remote access to the SCADA system.
These include, but are not limited to the following:
In order to make any operational changes through the SCADA system, an ID and
password must be correctly entered.
3.2.31. EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority 115 CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS
Emergency Management Plan
SECURITY SENSITIVE
June 7, 2013
NOT FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE