r/SCADA

I have been an electrician for 5 years and a software developer in the energy sector for 3-4 years now and im doing industrial automation on the side for now.

From where i sit, the biggest issue i see when IT people treat historian data as the "source of truth". No concept of deadbanding, scan cycles or accuracy classes. They build alerting on top of data that have been compressed multiple times before it hit the cloud and they wonder why operators often discard them.

What do you guy do when the "IT guys" comes and ask for "alle the data"? what do they often get wrong and what would you want them to understand from the OT side?

Assume Breach: If PLC Logic Can Be Manipulated, How Do We Prevent Physical Consequences?

In April 2026, the FBI, CISA, NSA, EPA, DOE, and U.S. Cyber Command issued a joint advisory warning that internet-connected operational technology (OT) devices, including Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley PLCs, were being actively exploited across multiple critical infrastructure sectors. The advisory was later updated to include Schneider Electric and Siemens PLCs, along with guidance for detecting malicious or unauthorized PLC project code.

Cybersecurity remains the first line of defense. Strong identity management, network segmentation, monitoring, and secure engineering practices are essential.

But what if we assume breach?
If an attacker can modify PLC logic or engineering project files, what additional engineering safeguards can prevent unsafe physical consequences?

Some examples:

1. Independent physics-based validation of process commands.
2. Process-aware controls that reject commands outside safe operating limits.
3. Independent safety mechanisms that remain effective even if a PLC is compromised.
4. Resilient architectures that maintain safe operations during cyber incidents.
5. Digital twins or process models that continuously validate expected system behavior.

The objective isn’t just to recover after an attack—it’s to prevent a cyber incident from becoming a physical incident.

This is the problem space I believe Cyber Physical Resilience Engineering (r/CPRE) should address by integrating cybersecurity, control engineering, process safety, and operational resilience.

What additional engineering approaches do you think are needed to keep critical infrastructure operating safely when cyber defenses are bypassed?

Joint Cybersecurity Advisory (Official):
Iranian-Affiliated Cyber Actors Exploit Programmable Logic Controllers Across U.S. Critical Infrastructure (AA26-097A)⁠ https://www.ic3.gov/CSA/2026/260407.pdf

In my country, SCADA specialists earn $800-1000 a month and i wonder if the salary is similar in other regions.

For comparison it costs $300-400 a month to rent an apartment and $300+ per person to buy enough food for one month, but we don't really pay much in taxes

Hello, I am a 16 year old and I would like to learn PLC basics, as I want to find a job as a instrumentation technician and I hope to gather some PLC experience before starting. I heard CODESYS was a great way to get started, however this will be my very first time dealing around with PLC's.

What exactly is CODESYS?

Is it similiar to virtual Arduino projects?

Where can I start and how would you recommend I start CODESYS?

Should Iearn any basics before doing CODESYS?

Is it a good way to learn PLC basics and get some virtual projects under my belt?

As I am entirely new to PLC's, is CODESYS a good way to learn PLC's? If not, what are some alternative ways I can learn PLC's?

I would appreciate any insights. Thanks!

Title says it. Want software (installed on a Windows industrial PC) to take some Modbus points, create an HMI to display the data and/or alarms.

Morning guys! I've just started in the automation field and I was wondering if you have any recommendations for courses, software, etc., to learn SCADA, iFIX, among others. thanks

Do your HMI/SCADA interfaces use physical keyboards?

I am working through a touchscreen interaction issue where I believe the vendor will ultimately need to provide the solution, but I am also evaluating possible mitigation options.

That has caused me to question a development practice I inherited and have accepted as valid for the past 13 years.

For context, I am using FactoryTalk View Studio SE v16, although I do not think the underlying question is specific to Rockwell. This does not apply to our ME projects.

Our standard momentary command buttons are built using the generic Button object with the Action configured as Run Command:

• On Press: Set the assigned tag bit to 1
• On Release: Set the assigned tag bit to 0

The release action also includes:

;SetFocus Footer

Footer is the object name of a separate button located outside the visible display area. It has no tag or functional action. Its only purpose is to receive focus after another button is released.

The reason I was given is that many of our Windows-based HMI terminals use physical keyboards. If an operational button retains focus after being touched or clicked, it may be possible to activate that button again unintentionally through the keyboard.

Based on my testing, that still appears to be a valid concern and requires intentional mitigation.

The current issue is that the generic Button object appears to behave inconsistently with the PCAP touchscreen hardware under Windows 11. The native Momentary Push Button object has performed much better during limited testing, but it does not provide an obvious built-in method to redirect focus after release.

My questions are:

• Do your HMI or SCADA stations use physical keyboards?
• Have you experienced accidental command or object activation caused by retained keyboard focus?
• How did you mitigate it?
• Do you intentionally redirect focus to a neutral object?
• Do you disable keyboard interaction for command objects?
• Is this something your HMI platform handles differently?

I am particularly interested in experience from Windows-based industrial HMI and SCADA systems, regardless of vendor.

I've been trying to move into industrial automation and controls, but I'm running into a problem.

I have hands on experience working with SCADA systems, PLC logic, and industrial controls, but almost all of it has been on an older proprietary platform from a contract job. The technology is pretty niche, so when I mention it in interviews, most people have never heard of it. It feels like my experience doesn't translate well compared to someone who has Allen Bradley, Siemens TIA Portal, Ignition, FactoryTalk, etc. on their resume.

(For reference, my experience was an IBM OS called OS/2, ACCOL 2.0, ACCOL 3.0 (ControlWave - industry standard lanaguage, OnSpec Automation for HMI, BSAP Communications protocol, and some MODBUS.) -> Rare, legacy tech that I just don't know how employers would look at it.

The manufacturer software that I was using does follow the ICE 613313 standard (might've mispelled that but whatevs), and I have the experience in the 5 languages, but I just dont know how employers would really look at that.

I'm a recent 2025 Computer Science graduate, with a solid electrical troubleshooting background, and I've been learning more about industrial automation on my own. I'm considering getting certifications (Allen Bradley, Ignition, Siemens), building a home PLC project, or both.

I unfortunately do not have formal certifications in HVAC or industrial automation, nor do i have a traditional formal EE (electrical engineering background), I'm just notable for writing good processes in code.

Is My 6 month contract experience enough to justify to keep applying, or should i Level up on the side to actually be employable?

ANY help whatsoever would be appreciated, thank you so much!

For those who've had to get air-conditioning (VRF or splits) onto Modbus for SCADA/monitoring: do you prefer a single centralized gateway on the manufacturer's bus, covering many indoor units, or a dedicated 1-to-1 interface at each indoor unit with its own Modbus address?

Interested in the real trade-offs you've hit — polling/reliability, register mapping, cost per point, and how each approach scales on larger or mixed-brand sites. Which is your default and when do you switch?

Simple title, simple question…How? Im brand new to the HMI/SCADA world, fresh out of an electrical engineering degree. Im very much struggling to retain information on all these things. I need to learn how to create hmi with tags displays, security etc using Ignition, factory talk view se, ifix, wonderware, in that order within the next 1.5 years. I need your best hacks, tutorials, and interactive learning options! Fill the comments, I’ll take every piece i can get. Feel free to talk to me like im 5 years old too.

Ill be doing the Ignition Core Cert soon. A few things I can't pin down from Inductive's site:

Is it running on 8.1 or 8.3 currently? Assume they update it but no idea on lag time.

Format — is it straight MCQ on the different sections, or do you get dropped into a live Gateway and asked to actually build/configure something? Or a mix of both?

If there's a practical side, what kind of tasks come up — tag config, bindings, scripting, alarming?
How long have you got, and is it proctored (webcam watching you the whole time or just an ID check at the start)?

Roughly how many questions/tasks total?
Any pass mark you'd recommend aiming for, or areas people get caught out on that aren't obvious from the Inductive University courses?

Ive just been getting conflicting reports so wanted to ask. Done most of the Core content on IU and running through the practice tests but want a realistic picture from someone who's actually sat it recently before I go in. Cheers. I appreciate any help at all!