Protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks continues to evolve from peripheral concerns to very real critical threats. The breadth and scale of critical infrastructure protection (CIP) ranges from electricity and natural gas energy supply to public safety communications, and the next frontier is water supply and storage. With high-profile cybersecurity attacks in 2021, such as those at Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods, there is no doubt that cybersecurity is of utmost importance, and cybersecurity for the water sector is no exception. 

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced that it will extend the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to the water sector through the Water and Wastewater Sector Action Plan, committing to evaluating and improving this sector’s cybersecurity. Hackers are continuously searching for a weak link, and combined with continuously evolving cybersecurity threats, utilities, grid operators and CIP providers may not have the internal expertise necessary to meet the ongoing challenge.