Water treatment system (Photo from Adobe Stock)
Cybersecurity risks threaten virtually every part of critical infrastructure in the United States, including the water supply. Four government agencies jointly issued an advisory that malicious actors are targeting the water system.
- Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery (USN, ret.), senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and executive director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, said the weak cybersecurity of the country’s water supply is a national security emergency because all 16 national critical infrastructures are linked.
- He said there has been a slight uptick in cyber attacks on local water systems, which could include criminals inserting ransomware or nation-state adversaries using malware to weaken the infrastructure during national crises.
- The Environmental Protection Agency, which is poorly resourced, should work with industry to develop water utility standards and increase accessibility of grant programs for cyber, and utility companies should invest more in their water systems, said Montgomery.
