Security automation in oil and gas companies Research Paper

Security automation in oil and gas companies - Research Paper Example At the same time, the future trends related to SA systems are presented. The work of firms that develop such systems, such as ABB, Siemens, Rockwell Automation, SELEX and Duos Technologies, is discussed; the SA systems of the above firms are explored as of their characteristics and implications. It seems that existing SA systems can highly promote security in regard to daily operations of firms in the oil and gas industry. However, failures are difficult to be eliminated. The use of supportive tests and tools, such as SCADA software, is considered as unavoidable for ensuring the high performance of SA systems. In the future also, a similar practice would be employed since failures are indispensable part of all computerized systems, such as the SA systems. The oil and gas industry is highly exposed to a series of risks. Reference can be made, for example, to the risks from exceeding initial budget or planned costs and the risks related to ‘assets damages and injuries of people’ (Bigliani 2013, p.1). The pollution caused to environment due to failures in daily operations of the relevant industrial units is also another aspect of risks that the firms operating in oil and gas industry are likely to face (Bigliani 2013). The last few years another type of risk has appeared in the oil and gas industry: failures in cybersecurity of the industry’s firms (Radvanovsky & Brodsky 2013). The virus attack against the computer systems of Saudi Aramco in August 2012 resulted to severe problems in the operations of most of the company’s units; in total, about 30,000 units of the firm were infected by the above virus (Bigliani 2013, p.5). The introduction of Security Automation Systems in the oil and gas industry has been co nsidered as the most appropriate solution for addressing the industry’s risks. The structure, role and terms of implementation and operation of these systems are explored in this paper. Emphasis is given to the current state