To enable communications between components like intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), substations and remote terminal units (RTUs), electric utility environments in North America use very unique protocols, including DNP3, Modbus and IEC 61850. Because these protocols are proprietary, traditional IT monitoring tools can’t decode them. Without the ability to monitor traffic between control systems and field devices, utility cybersecurity and operations teams are left with major blind spots.
Complete Visibility for Electric Utilities Requires Going Beyond IP Traffic
While tapping into the network core provides visibility into traffic traversing the perimeter, crucial blind spots remain. Electric utilities increasingly rely on connected assets in the field—equipment with embedded sensors, switches, and more. These components also run on proprietary protocols, but often operate on proprietary wireless systems or legacy serial connections, versus modern IP networking.
Without the ability to capture serial communications and analyze that data, you’re blind to nearly 50% of utility OT infrastructure. Relying on core network traffic analysis alone also misses local communication confined within air gapped environments, like a substation...Read More!
