Identifying SCADA Systems and Their Vulnerabilities on the Internet of Things: A Text-Mining Approach

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems allow operators to control critical infrastructure. Vendors are increasingly integrating Internet technology into these devices, making them more susceptible to cyberattacks. Identifying and assessing vulnerabilities of SCADA devices using Shodan, a search engine that contains records about publicly available Internet-connected devices, can help mitigate cyberattacks. The authors present a principled approach to systematically identify all SCADA devices on Shodan and then assess the vulnerabilities of the devices with a state-of-the-art tool.