By Pete Lund The recent devastating droughts in the U.K. and the U.S. have driven water restrictions in affected regions, making Water and Wastewater facilities’ Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) prime targets for cybersecurity attacks as the industry’s role in a safe andRead More

Recently, the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) released a Request for Information (RFI) to inform the agency’s development of new critical infrastructure cyber incident reporting rules enacted by Congress earlier this year. The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act was approved by Congress in March. The lawRead More

Recently, the U.S. EPA’s Office of Water finalized a report describing how it plans to provide voluntary cybersecurity technical support to drinking water systems, the second of two cyber-related actions that were mandated by Congress last year as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The infrastructureRead More

Cyberattacks on industrial control systems/operational technology are more likely to have a credit and ESG impact than a corresponding attack on IT, Fitch Ratings says. Operational technology (OT) systems are vital production technologies that prioritize product or service availability and human safety and are oftenRead More

Under a bill approved by the House of Representatives, state, local, territorial and tribal governments would be able to receive training and information about “cybersecurity threat indicators and response actions” from the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) at the Department of Homeland Security.Read More

In a hearing in early April, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) testified on the issue of cybersecurity before the House Committee on Homeland Security, asserting a new approach is needed that “sets minimum cybersecurity standards for all types of water systems.” The hearing was titled “MobilizingRead More

By Andrew Farr According to government officials, security experts and persistent media reports, all signs indicate that cybersecurity is an issue that is here to stay and puts U.S. infrastructure squarely in the crosshairs of hackers and foreign governments. Recently the issue has been heightenedRead More

Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and escalating concerns about potential cyberattacks, the Senate last week unanimously approved a package of cybersecurity legislation that includes provisions that would require certain critical infrastructure owners and operators to promptly report cyber intrusions to DHS. While water and wastewater systems areRead More

By Charlie Moskowitz It has been another record-breaking year for cybersecurity incidents. According to Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) research, data breaches in just the first nine months of 2021 surpassed all breaches in 2020 by 17 percent. Many of these incidents have been metRead More

In December, several water sector associations wrote to EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox to express concern and opposition to the agency’s plans to incorporate cybersecurity audits as part of utility sanitary surveys. The EPA proposal was included in its FY22 budget request toRead More