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White House Officials Want State Water/Wastewater Cybersecurity Plans Soon

In response to “multiple” cyber threat vectors, the Biden administration has asked governors of all 50 states to generate cybersecurity plans within 90 days (approximately July 1, 2024) to protect local water and wastewater...more

Critical Infrastructure Organizations Warned to Upgrade Systems and Software

In one of the most clear-eyed and sobering assessments of the cyberthreat China poses to our nation’s critical infrastructure, the country’s foremost cybersecurity leaders recently testified that the Chinese Communist Party...more

Challenges to EPA’s Water Facility Cybersecurity Mandates Successful

Despite efforts to stem increasing cyber threats to water systems around the nation, on October 13, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew cybersecurity mandates put in place by the Biden...more

EPA Grants Could Leave Door Open for Cyberattacks and IP Theft

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rush to push billions of dollars of grant assistance to recipients has created the potential for devastating cyberattacks and intellectual property theft on water/wastewater...more

Cyber Hygiene Now Part of Public Water System “Sanitary Survey” Check-Ups

Public Water Systems (PWS) are now required to conduct cyber defense check-ups at the same time they conduct their routine “sanitary surveys,” according to a new requirement issued by the Environmental Protection Agency on...more

Could Critical Infrastructure Suffer from a PIPEDREAM?

During the past couple of years, multiple warnings of imminent cyberattacks have seemingly gone unheeded by critical infrastructure owners and operators. Is embracing a fantasy that they won’t be attacked potentially a...more

Critical Infrastructure Operators Take Note: Biden Administration to Unveil New Cybersecurity Regulations

While acknowledging that voluntary approaches to cybersecurity compliance have produced some important improvements, the Biden administration says those improvements have been mostly incomplete and inadequate, particularly in...more

Water, Hospitals and Intellectual Property…the Cyber Risk Surges, Particularly for U.S. Critical Infrastructure

In a recent report, Microsoft cataloged the past year’s cybersecurity threats they saw plaguing the U.S. What they found is as disturbing as it is unsurprising. China, Russia, Iran and affiliated groups are all becoming far...more

New Cyber Rules for Freight & Passenger Rail Announced

On October 18, 2022, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued Security Directive 1580-21-01A, intended to make the nation’s rail system more cyber secure by promoting lines of communication and improving...more

$1,000,000,000 Now Available to State, Local & Tribal Entities for Cybersecurity Planning & Improvement

$1Bn is now available to state, local and tribal (SLT) entities to shore up their cybersecurity vulnerabilities under the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) announced on Friday, September 16th by the U.S....more

$1M Colonial Pipeline Fine: The Canary in the Coal Mine?

A proposed $1M civil penalty against Colonial Pipeline for its procedural failures during a ransomware attack could indicate what’s in store for critical infrastructure operators who fail to keep employees up to date on how...more

This Time They Mean “IT”!

In 2010, Congress held hearings that sought to understand how the Department of Homeland Security was enforcing cybersecurity regulations on “covered” critical infrastructure (CI) providers. Congress learned that DHS was...more

"Better Late Than Never" No Longer a Cybersecurity Option: Prepare Now for the Current Threat

The United States is facing a very real cybersecurity threat. As Russia intensifies actions in Ukraine, economic sanctions are sure to follow. In response, experts expect Russia to launch cyberattacks against high-value...more

Is the Best Cyber Defense a Good Offense?

On January 20th, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that would direct the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to strengthen cybersecurity standards to...more

Critical Infrastructure Facing Multiple, Immediate Threats

According to a January 27, 2022 statement from the White House: "Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it will extend the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to the water sector. ...more

[Webinar] Turning the Tide on Cybersecurity for the Water Sector - November 16th, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm PT

Cyberattacks on organizations worldwide surged 40% in 2021. September 2021 broke records for the number of weekly cyberattacks, topping all other months since January 2020. Currently, one out of every 61 organizations...more

The Cyber Clock is Ticking: Biden Administration & Congress Advance Incident Reporting

As we reported on September 9th, meaningful and robust federal cybersecurity legislation is nearly across the finish line. Since then, further developments indicate that reporting mandates are imminent. On September 21st, the...more

Get the Federal ‘Cyber Carrots’ Now Because the Stick is Coming!

In the wake of several recent high-profile cyber and ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure, Committees in both the House and Senate are drafting at least three separate pieces of legislation that would require victims...more

The US Senate Infrastructure Bill: Securing Our Electrical Grid Through P3s and Grants

As we begin to better understand the main components of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that the US Senate is working to pass this week, it is clear that public-private partnerships ("P3s") are a favored funding...more

President Biden Unveils Historic Infrastructure Proposal

The President unveiled details of his historic infrastructure plan this morning, proposing the largest infrastructure investment in U.S. history. ...more

Pork-Lite, The New Way to Earmark

Like that famous movie line, “Show me the money!,” Congress is sending money directly to certain community projects in a practice known as earmarking. The money and earmarking spigot in Washington, DC is about to turn on...more

3/19/2021  /  Federal Budget , Federal Funding , GAO

SolarWinds Cybersecurity Exploit: What Water Providers Need to Know and Do

In light of the major cybersecurity breach of the SolarWinds Orion software by malicious actors, the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) recently issued a series of advisories providing guidance for...more

Re-Cap of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector

If you were unable to attend our recent webinar “Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector”, please check out the several key take-aways from the presentation...more

On-Demand Webinar | Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector [Video]

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump could mean big changes for federal treatment of issues affecting water service providers, as well as how such issues are addressed in California, where Governor Newsom...more

[Webinar] Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector - December 3rd, 11:00...

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump could mean big changes for federal treatment of issues affecting water service providers, as well as how such issues are addressed in California, where Governor Newsom...more

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