Patent ID: 10645167

Abstract:
A system and method for improving the security and reliability of industrial control system (ICS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) communication networks utilized within power systems is provided. For power system intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) that comprise these networks, a number of settings are created and stored inside the device settings files that define the IED's communication parameters. Inspection of a settings and configuration file (SCF) allows the identification and extraction of the device's configured and therefore permissible communication characteristics. Using this extracted information, rulesets are generated and subsequently pushed to one or more network security devices, e.g. firewalls, managed switches, and intrusion detection/prevention systems. In such a manner, the described innovation is able to derive a perspective of the allowable system communication and issue rulesets and settings to network security devices (NSDs). The NSDs are subsequently able to control communication links and/or detect deviations from the acceptable communication parameters as per the function and design of the NSD.