While the system is operational, an industrial control systems engineer assesses analyses on packet capture and traffic analysis. What type of analysis is this?

The analysis of packet capture and traffic analysis performed by an industrial control systems engineer while the system is operational is classified as dynamic analysis. Dynamic analysis involves examining the behavior and performance of a system in real-time, making it particularly well-suited for assessing live network traffic and understanding how data flows through a system under actual operating conditions.

In this context, dynamic analysis allows the engineer to identify potential vulnerabilities, performance issues, or malicious activity by observing the system in action. This can be essential for ensuring the security and reliability of industrial control systems, where live operational data is crucial for making informed decisions about system integrity and security.

While static analysis refers to the examination of code without executing it, and reverse engineering involves deconstructing software to understand its components, dynamic analysis focuses on the real-time operation of a system, making it the appropriate classification for the situation described. Side-channel analysis, on the other hand, examines unintended information leaks from a system, such as timing or power consumption, which does not apply in this case.