144 Int. J. Internet Technology and Secured Transactions, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2017 Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. An assessment of the application of IT security mechanisms to industrial control systems Allan Cook, Helge Janicke, Leandros Maglaras* and Richard Smith Cyber Technology Institute, De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK Email: allan.cook@my365.dmu.ac.uk Email: heljanic@dmu.ac.uk Email: leandrosmag@gmail.com Email: rgs@dmu.ac.uk *Corresponding author Abstract: Industrial control systems (ICS) are increasingly becoming the target of cyber attacks. In order to counter this threat, organisations are turning to traditional IT security mechanisms to protect their operations. However, ICS includes a range of technologies which are often unfamiliar to contemporary IT security professionals or the tools they deploy. This paper explores the applicability of these tools within an ICS and critically analyses contemporary ICS architectures. The contribution of this paper is a clear identification of the areas of ICS to which IT security mechanisms can be applied and the challenges that are faced in the others. The paper continues to explore what mechanisms may be considered in these non-traditional areas of technology. Keywords: industrial control system; ICS; cyber; security; SCADA systems. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Cook, A., Janicke, H., Maglaras, L. and Smith, R. (2017) ‘An assessment of the application of IT security mechanisms to industrial control systems’, Int. J. Internet Technology and Secured Transactions, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp.144–174. Biographical notes: Allan Cook is a PhD researcher at the De Montfort University. He was awarded an MSc with Distinction in Computer Security at the De Montfort in 2015, with his thesis focusing on the protection of industrial control systems (ICS) from cyber attack. His current research continues in this field, developing methods to assess the risks to critical national infrastructure, built upon ICS and the industrial internet of things, using synthetic environments, and defining ways in which ICS cyber incident responders can improve their effectiveness. Helge Janicke is the Director of the De Montfort University’s Cyber Technology Institute. He is the Head of School of Computer Science and Informatics. He was awarded a PhD in Computer Science in 2007, and worked on cyber security with organisations such as Airbus Group, QinetiQ, Ministry of Defence and General Dynamics UK amongst others. His interests are covering formal verification techniques and their application to cyber security, SCADA and industrial control system security as well as aspects of cyber warfare. He established DMU’s Airbus Group Centre of Excellence in SCADA Cyber Security and Forensics Research in 2013. He is a General Chair of the