The Environmental Protection Agency warns that cyberattacks against water utilities around the U.S. are becoming more frequent and more severe.

Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water.

About 70% of utilities inspected by federal officials over the last year violated standards meant to prevent breaches or other intrusions, the agency said. Officials urged even small water systems to improve protections against hacks. Recent cyberattacks by groups affiliated with Russia and Iran have targeted smaller communities.

Some water systems are falling short in basic ways, the alert said, including failure to change default passwords or cut off system access to former employees. Because water utilities often rely on computer software to operate treatment plants and distribution systems, protecting information technology and process controls is crucial, the EPA said. Possible impacts of cyberattacks include interruptions to water treatment and storage; damage to pumps and valves; and alteration of chemical levels to hazardous amounts, the agency said.

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McCabe named China, Russia and Iran as the countries that are “actively seeking the capability to disable U.S. critical infrastructure, including water and wastewater.”

  • Thrashy@lemmy.world
    12·
    6 months ago

    Water and sewer are overwhelmingly public utilities in the US. This is more a case of small-time bureaucratic incompetence than corporate avarice – think along the lines of your grandpa writing the default Wifi password on the front of the router because he can’t remember it and doesn’t know how to change it, except Grandpa is in charge of a rural water district, and the router is the control system for the chlorine treatment.

    Where water service is expensive in the US it’s usually because decades-old infrastructure built to support far-flung suburban development are starting to fall apart, and there was never a plan to pay for replacement. Some places are also being required by the EPA to separate ancient combined storm and sanitary sewers, which basically entails a complete replacement of the sewers at a cost of billions. Infrastructure is expensive to maintain, especially if you spend a few decades ignoring it first.

    • Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      6·
      6 months ago

      And when the rural communities can’t afford to do the EPA mandated updates, they sell out to a publicly traded, for profit corporation…who raises basic utility fees multiple times over the short span they’ve owned and operated the infrastructure of the rural communities.

      I’m not saying you’re wrong in every instance, as what you’ve said holds true a lot of the time. Just not in this very specific, albeit anecdotal, instance.

    • Furedadmins@lemmy.world
      4·
      6 months ago

      So there is also the classic issue of underfunding of municipal services. Good luck getting qualified security people for what local government pays.