Hot Stuff on the Web

Katherine Bonfante is senior digital editor for Control and ControlDesign. You can email her at [email protected] or check out her Google+ profile.Web trends are topics that become popular suddenly. Their popularity is determined based on your web searches. Here at ControlGlobal.com, your recent online searches have made Stuxnet, SCADA and PLC viruses, among others, recent trends.

Hot topic number one is Stuxnet. Visit www.Controlglobal.com, do a search and find different articles and white papers on this subject. The "Anti-Stuxnet and Other Cyber Nasties—Tools" by Industrial Automation Insider's Nick Denbow says that Stuxnet is considered a sophisticated cyber-war weapon, and he reviews part of a webinar hosted this last August by Walt Sikora, vice president of security solutions at Industrial Defender Inc. Visit www.controlglobal.com/articles/2010/002.html to read the entire article and learn more.

"Using Tofino to Control the Spread of Stuxnet Malware" is an application note that describes how to use the Tofino Industrial Security Solution to prevent the spread of the Stuxnet worm in both Siemens and non-Siemens network environments. Visit www.controlglobal.com/whitepapers/2010/063.html to read this application note.

Stop by our Control/ARC Process Automation Podcast Series page (www.controlglobal.com/extras/ARC_Control_Podcasts.html) and listen to our podcast "The Straight Scoop on Stuxnet." This podcast features managing editor Nancy Bartels and ARC's Bob Mick. They sort out the hype, hysteria and hoopla surrounding Stuxnet, and get to the nitty gritty of what this computer worm, aimed directly at control systems, means for your cybersecurity plans. Listen to it at www.controlglobal.com/multimedia/2010/StuxnetScoopPodcast1010.html.

SCADA is another hot topic on our site. One of the most read articles on this subject is "The Can of Worms is Open—Now What?" written by John Cusimano and Eric Byres. This article talks about SCADA and Stuxnet. Cusimano and Byres say that designing a good cyber defense for your SCADA or process control system is no longer an option. Log on to www.controlglobal.com/articles/2010/StuxnetWorm1010.html and find out why.

If you are interested in learning more about SCADA, check executive editor Jim Montague's article "SCADA Software Keeps Eye on Big Picture." In this article, Montague touches on how useful SCADA can be and how this type of software's benefits never grow old. Read this article at www.controlglobal.com/articles/2008/233.html.