In 1980, Xerox, Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation (the latter long since acquired by Hewlett-Packard) jointly issued a formal specification for Ethernet, making it publicly available for a nominal licensing fee. Later, in November 1982 the companies published Version 2.0 to define their continued development of this evolving LAN technology. (Ethernet Version 2.0 was partially incompatible with the previous specification.) Later, the non-profit Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (www.IEEE.org) became responsible for Ethernet specifications and undertook a reformulation of standardization development.

Today, the burgeoning use of Internet Protocol (I/P) communications and in particular, Ethernet for real-time utility automation/IT applications, is transforming the industrial automation landscape. However, despite having already become entrenched in the business side of data communications, use of the Internet as a primary medium for mission-critical control systems remains a double-edged sword.

Providing seemingly unlimited connectivity to an ever-expanding array of virtual and physical locations, the Internet is now seen by many as both a vice and a virtue. Even before wireless Ethernet became a reality, the idea of using high-speed public information networks to replace the proprietary communications networks widely deployed in mission-critical applications garnered a mixed reception due to its inherent vulnerabilities and a pervasive absence of data security.

This presentation will examine the pros and cons of using the Internet as a primary network for the mission-critical SCADA systems, which in turn, monitor and/or control a substantial portion of what the US Department of Homeland Security considers critical infrastructure and what the eventual outcome of current trends might be looking forward.