Getting down to the nitty grid-dy
So I do have an interest in the way that SCADA systems and various infrastructure systems are implemented, networked, and protected. My overall understanding of things is that while much of the critical infrastructure is maintained and updated, there are older systems that have been kind of bootlegged into the current control network, leaving them quite vulnerable and exposed to anyone with knowledge of the older language schemes that these control systems were programmed in.
This article talks about the pros and cons of the DoE and NIST upgrading systems for interoperability and consistency, with an interesting point being made that the uniform system is actually potentially more vulnerable because once someone figures out (not if, but when) a security hole, they will know how to manipulate any of the utilities/infrastructure secured by the system.
Not a whole lot else to say about it. Kind of boring, but definitely a national security issue.