Networked computers reside at the heart of critical infrastructures and systems on which people rely, such as the power grid, the oil & gas infrastructure and power, oil and chemical process plants.

Today, many of these systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks that can inhibit their operation, corrupt valuable data, or expose private information. These vulnerabilities occur in a landscape where such systems are highly interdependent because they are extensively interconnected. Attacks compromising security of monitoring and control systems may have wide negative impact on the safety of personnel, the public and the environment, by causing blackouts, oil spills, release of pollutants in the air, water and soil.

Pressure to ensure cyber security of control and communication systems is very strong in the US, where many industry sectors - electricity, oil, gas etc. are issuing guidelines and have set up open discussion venues such as the Process Control Systems Forum. In the US there are national facilities available to test the security of control and communication components. Until now EU industry awareness and readiness lagged behind, although the importance of the issue starts to be recognized. Many users are trying to accommodate what emerges as best practice security.