220-1101 Question 105
Single answerSupervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)A technician is asked to replace a failed workstation in a water treatment facility. The workstation is used by operators to monitor pumps and tank levels through a SCADA application. The plant manager says the replacement must be completed quickly and with minimal risk to operations. Which action should the technician take FIRST to best support the SCADA environment?
- A
Verify the replacement workstation matches the approved hardware, operating system, and application requirements defined for the SCADA system
- B
Upgrade the workstation to the newest available operating system to improve security before installing the SCADA software
- C
Connect the replacement workstation to the internet and download the latest drivers and utilities from multiple vendor sites
- D
Join the workstation to the general corporate domain so administrators can manage it with standard office IT policies
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
SCADA systems are part of operational technology environments where availability, predictability, and vendor-supported configurations are prioritized. For A+ Core 1, candidates should recognize that industrial systems are handled differently from standard business desktops. The best first step is to confirm that the replacement workstation matches the documented and approved SCADA baseline before making changes. This aligns with widely accepted industrial control system guidance, including principles from NIST SP 800-82, which emphasizes strict configuration control, limited unnecessary changes, and careful management of ICS assets. In practice, technicians should follow site documentation, approved images, vendor compatibility lists, and change-management procedures to minimize operational risk.
- A. Correct.
This is correct. In a SCADA environment, stability, compatibility, and adherence to the approved system baseline are critical. Industrial control systems often depend on specific hardware models, OS versions, driver sets, and application versions that have been tested by the vendor or engineering team. Replacing the workstation with one that matches the documented SCADA requirements reduces the chance of interrupting monitoring or control functions.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Although security is important, immediately upgrading to the newest operating system can break compatibility with SCADA software, drivers, HMIs, or vendor-supported configurations. In industrial environments, unsupported upgrades can create more risk than benefit. The technician should first confirm the approved configuration rather than applying consumer-style upgrade practices.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. SCADA and other operational technology systems are commonly isolated or tightly controlled to reduce risk. Connecting a replacement system directly to the internet and pulling software from various sources can violate site policy, introduce malware risk, and create version inconsistency. Software and drivers should come from approved, validated sources according to the organization's change-control process.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. A SCADA workstation should not automatically be managed like a standard office PC. Applying normal corporate policies, software packages, or patch baselines can interfere with industrial applications and communications. Whether the device is domain-joined depends on the organization's ICS design and approved architecture, so this is not the best first action.