Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

Benjamin Franksen <[email protected]> · Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:41:12 +0100

On Donnerstag, 14. Januar 2010, Sarkar, Surajit wrote:
> Normally one would like to keep everything open source for all the well
> known benefits.
>
> How ever with the number of different facilities utilizing EPICS for
> controls, the possibility of information freely available being utilized
> to evaluate the possibility of, or facilitate a cyber attack on these
> installations should be considered. If there is any concern then may be
> the policy should be adjusted.

To my knowledge, the idea that computer systems can be made more secure by 
withholding information about the way their software is constructed (i.e. 
its source code) has been discredited a long time ago. Millions of spambots 
running well-known (and well-guarded) closed source system software should 
testify...

Besides, EPICS was never designed to be secure against malevolent attack. 
You just have to make it impossible (or at last impractical) to break into 
the (local) control network, just like any company intranet.

Cheers
Ben

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System