4 minute read When organizations implement security measures for their SCADA system , “most folks want everything fully secured,” says Kevin McClusky, Chief Technology Architect at Inductive Automation. But deciding what “fully secured” looks like will depend on specific needs and resources, from available budget and existing software and hardware to actual security risk. While circumstances may differ, these SCADA security best practices can guide any organization looking to step up their security. Each step builds on the ones before it, so consider sequential implementation. 1: Diagram All Network Traffic Creating a diagram that shows all network traffic between PLCs, devices, external software systems, and your chosen HMI/SCADA/MES/IIoT platform is the foundational best practice for intelligent decision making, says McClusky. “Think of this as the item that allows you to have a picture of how your security is looking at the moment. It lets you know where the weak points are and where potential attack factors could be from bad actors trying to get to the system overall,” he says. While some security tools can automate this diagram, McClusky still recommends creating the diagram manually. “There’s nothing like getting your hands dirty to understand your connections and how everything works inside the system,” McClusky said. 2: Encrypt All Connections If any connections aren’t encrypted, make sure access to that network is secured. Database connections may be easy to encrypt, while a PLC connection could be difficult. Examine the firewalls that are in place and decide which connections should be encrypted. To ensure that data transferred is kept secure, the Ignition platform supports SSL/TLS security as a best practice. The “s” in a URL that begins with “HTTPS” signifies the website is secured by an SSL/TLS certificate. Cryptographic algorithms scramble data in transit, thus preventing bad actors from reading or modifying any information being transferred. 3: Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Having an IDS for a controls network allows easy detection of unauthorized access. An IDS is even more valuable when there is unencrypted traffic over a network, though keep in mind that an IDS won’t detect something like a network tap that can read unencrypted data. 4: Data Diode For extremely sensitive networks that don’t need outside data, consider using a data diode, which only allows data to flow out of a network, but not flow into it, thus cutting off one major vector of attack. 5: Risk Profile Organizations can spend large amounts of time and money implementing security procedures, layering security effort over security effort, and some of it may be unnecessary. To help decide what’s “secure enough” for each organization, McClusky offers an analogy: think of security procedures for a SCADA system like security measures added to a house. “If you’re in your home, are you going to have one-foot thick concrete walls around your house? No. Do you want your house to be secure? Yes,” McClusky says. “You can keep layering on layers of security, but is it worth the investment?” 6: Understand Your Options & Limits While there are some exceptions, many modern PLCs do not have security tools built inside of them, McClusky says. “If you don’t know the options when you purchase hardware, there’s no way to do a good job with your security,” says McClusky. To prevent retrofitting software and hardware, look out for the growing number of devices, PLCs and products that have security directly built in. 7: MFA/2FA & SSO With remote access to your SCADA system through software like the Ignition Perspective Module, organizations can allow more access to system data than ever before. However, wider access can lead to greater security risk in the event of compromised login credentials. Using a single sign-on (SSO) allows users to use one set of credentials to access more than one application. This can streamline the login process as well as make it easier to monitor user activity. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication (MFA/2FA) requires users to enter multiple identifying factors to gain access to the system. Keep Your System Protected Knowing what to do — and what not to do — is only part of establishing a secure SCADA system and an effective, knowledgeable team. Having a robust platform like Ignition, built on trusted security technologies and with hours of free tutorial videos available on-demand, will help you focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. Last Updated on: June 29, 2026 Inductive Automation Inductive Automation is a leader in industrial automation software that empowers its customers to “Dream It, Do It.” It was founded in 2003 by Steve Hechtman, a prominent system integrator with a quarter-century of experience, who was determined to solve SCADA pain points. As a result, the company created its flagship product Ignition, the #1 platform for SCADA, HMI, IIoT, MES, and more. In business and privately owned for over 23 years, Inductive Automation’s global presence is flourishing: 140+ countries have Ignition installations, there are 5,000+ integrators in its integrator program, and 69% of the Fortune 100 use Ignition. The company has earned numerous industry accolades, and was recently recognized in Automation World’s 2026 Leaders in Automation program in four categories. You Might Also Like Inductive Automation All rights reserved