How can you use penetration testing tools to identify vulnerabilities in industrial control systems?

1 What is ICS and why is it vulnerable?

ICS is a term that encompasses different types of systems that control physical devices, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), remote terminal units (RTUs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. These systems are often interconnected with other networks, such as the internet, corporate networks, or wireless networks, to enable remote access, data exchange, and automation. However, this also increases the attack surface and exposes them to various threats, such as malware, denial-of-service, ransomware, espionage, sabotage, and physical damage. Moreover, many ICS systems are based on legacy technologies that have outdated or insecure protocols, software, and hardware, making them more susceptible to exploitation.

3 What are some common ICS penetration testing tools?

When performing an ICS penetration test, there are several tools available to help with the different stages, such as reconnaissance, scanning, enumeration, exploitation, and post-exploitation. Nmap is a network scanner that can discover hosts, ports, services, and vulnerabilities on an ICS network. Wireshark is a network analyzer that can capture and inspect the traffic on an ICS network. Metasploit is a framework that can facilitate the exploitation of vulnerabilities and the execution of payloads on an ICS system. PLCScan is a tool that can scan and identify PLCs on an ICS network, as well as read and write data to the PLC memory and execute commands. Lastly, Shodan is a search engine that can find ICS devices and systems connected to the internet, providing information such as the IP address, location, device type, services of the assets, and any misconfigurations or exposures.

4 How to use these tools to identify vulnerabilities in ICS?

Using these tools, you can perform a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the security posture of your ICS environment, and identify any weaknesses that could be exploited by an attacker. For example, you can use Nmap to scan the ICS network and find out the open ports, the running services, and the potential vulnerabilities on each host. You can then use Wireshark to analyze the network traffic and understand the communication patterns and the data flows of the ICS protocols. You can also use Metasploit to exploit any known or unknown vulnerabilities on the ICS devices and systems, and gain access or control over them. You can then use PLCScan to interact with the PLCs and manipulate their logic or functionality. You can also use Shodan to search for any ICS assets that are exposed to the internet and assess their security level.

5 What are the benefits and challenges of ICS penetration testing?

ICS penetration testing can provide several benefits for improving the security and resilience of your ICS environment, such as discovering and prioritizing vulnerabilities, evaluating existing security controls, demonstrating compliance with standards, and increasing awareness of threats. However, there are some challenges and limitations that should be considered, such as obtaining authorization from ICS owners and operators, potential risks of intrusive or disruptive testing, complexity of dealing with the diversity of ICS technologies, and reliance on limited tests.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?