EPA: 7 in 10 U.S. Community Water Systems Are at Risk of Cyber Attacks

Since 2020, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has doled out more than 100 enforcement actions against community water systems (CWS) across the U.S. for violations of the Safe Water Drinking Act.

Securing the nation’s approximately 153,000 publicly owned and operated drinking water systems and 16,000 wastewater systems is a responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, the majority (70%) of community water systems inspected since September 2023 don’t even meet the baseline security requirements outlined in the Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA). That’s why the EPA issued an enforcement alert outlining the urgency of complying with the SWDA.

Gee, that’s comforting, particularly when you consider that cyber attacks against U.S. water and wastewater systems are on the rise. We saw evidence of that this year when cybercriminals attacked a small Texas town’s water facility, causing a tank to overflow.

What can these community water systems (and other critical infrastructure organizations) do to harden their defenses against potential cyber attacks and avert disaster?

Let’s hash it out.

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