Federal Watchdog Calls on EPA to Formulate Comprehensive Cybersecurity Plan for Water Systems

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to urgently formulate a strategy to combat the increasing risk of cyber attacks targeting the country’s drinking and wastewater systems. This recommendation was outlined in a report released last week. 

Recently, the water utility sector has faced a surge in threats from both state-linked and criminal hackers. These malicious actors are employing custom malware, ransomware, and other tools to disable, sabotage, or steal data from vulnerable water utilities.

The GAO emphasized the need for a comprehensive sector-wide risk assessment, noting that the water utility sector lacks adequate protection against these threats without additional government support.

The Biden administration has made securing the drinking and wastewater treatment industries a priority, especially after several high-profile hacking incidents have raised concerns about the sector’s cybersecurity. 

In March, the White House and EPA urged state officials to report on the preparedness of water utilities to combat increasing cyber threats. Despite this, EPA officials remain concerned that the information provided is not being consolidated into a comprehensive national strategy.

A

[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.