Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are widely used to monitor and control industrial processes. They provide the key functionality of real-time monitoring, logging/archiving, report generation, and automation for smart grid, which is a promising power delivery system for the near future. On the basis of these functionalities, various SCADA architectures, including hardware and software architecture, have been proposed and standardized; however, the most open and expediently growing areas in the smart grid are the infrastructure and technologies for the SCADA communication and security. In this paper, we provide a review for many documented standards in SCADA, and we also review its state-of-the-art communication and security aspects. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. We provide a review for many documented standards in SCADA, and we also review its state-of-the-art communication and security aspects. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.