We think of attacks by foreign entities as arriving by way of planes or missiles or even ships, which could happen. Attacking by means of disrupting or contaminating water supplies, however, can also have a devastating effect without the attacker taking the risk of an assault by air, land or sea. Who did it? Who knows? How do we retaliate against an unknown enemy? And what devastation! One thing we must have is drinkable water. Of course, the culprit could be a native with a grudge or a warped sense of humor. In any case, this is alarming.
Alarming, but for at least the last 30 years IT professionals have been concerned about how many water systems seemed vulnerable to hacking.
We got off easy this time. The effects were leaks or low water pressure (sometimes low enough to require boil water notices), nothing worse--and it got plenty of attention. Maybe this will prod utilities in general to shore up their cyber security to fend off anything worse along these lines.
We think of attacks by foreign entities as arriving by way of planes or missiles or even ships, which could happen. Attacking by means of disrupting or contaminating water supplies, however, can also have a devastating effect without the attacker taking the risk of an assault by air, land or sea. Who did it? Who knows? How do we retaliate against an unknown enemy? And what devastation! One thing we must have is drinkable water. Of course, the culprit could be a native with a grudge or a warped sense of humor. In any case, this is alarming.
Alarming, but for at least the last 30 years IT professionals have been concerned about how many water systems seemed vulnerable to hacking.
We got off easy this time. The effects were leaks or low water pressure (sometimes low enough to require boil water notices), nothing worse--and it got plenty of attention. Maybe this will prod utilities in general to shore up their cyber security to fend off anything worse along these lines.