ENSURING RELIABLE OPERATION OF INFO-COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS UNDER PRE-EMERGENCY AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS IN THE POWER UTILITIES AND THEIR REAL-TIME PROTECTION AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED INFLUENCE

摘要

This report highlights major problems referred to reliability, survivability and security of power industry communication systems. Providing reliability of communication networks functioning under external and internal influences is directly connected with reliability of the power utility operation itself. While there is a number of measures that allow to provide the required parameters of reliability and security of power industry information infrastructure. The report takes into attention administrative, procedural and software-hardware actions. Administrative methods include development of policy in the sphere of information security and drawing up documents that regulate solving of the assigned tasks. Among procedural actions are those that aim at work with personnel, equipping security utilities with technical security systems, supporting operating capability of information security systems and acting on security regime disturbance. SCADA/EMS systems are vulnerable for unauthorized access due to the fact that information security networks, telecommunications are complex and distributed. Therefore, there are a number of software-hardware methods, the purpose of which is to provide security. It is necessary to determine the main security characteristics that security levels of power industry telecommunication networks should meet. The major purpose of SCADA/EMS security provision system is monitoring of sustainable, correct performing of the main system's functions in case of key components failure. Pursuing the goal of reliable SCADA/EMS operation it is relevant to assure the availability and performance of a few functions such as primary system equipment monitoring and back up. With connection to that attention should be paid as well to the software reliable operation, malfunction of which can result in failure in system's operation, data loss and some other intolerable events. The system is to be resistant to failure of input discrete and analogue signals (circuits break, sensor damage). Such damages are not to cause uninterrupted events occurrence avoiding system's software hang-up. Additionally, there is a number of data and software monitoring and back up methods that are to be provided.