Priya PatelTLDR:
– The U.S. EPA is forming a Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force to protect water systems from cyberattacks
– Threat actors like Cyber Av3ngers and Volt Typhoon have targeted water systems in the U.S. and Guam
– The EPA and CISA are urging critical infrastructure entities to implement secure by-design principles to defend against cyber threats
Article Summary:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a new “Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force” to address cybersecurity threats faced by water systems in the country. Threat actors, including Cyber Av3ngers and Volt Typhoon, have targeted water and wastewater systems, highlighting the vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. The EPA, in collaboration with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is urging critical infrastructure entities to adopt secure by-design principles to defend against cyber threats.
China has been implicated in launching an offensive media strategy to propagate false narratives about U.S. hacking operations, indicating tensions in the relationship between the two countries. The EPA and CISA are emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the supply chain, increasing awareness of social engineering tactics, and implementing robust logging to protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Overall, the formation of the task force and the collaboration between government agencies underscore the critical need to secure water and wastewater systems from cyber threats that could disrupt access to clean and safe drinking water for millions of Americans.
