Earlier this week, the US House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing on water sector critical infrastructure preparedness and resilience. Witnesses testified that there needs to be reliable, consistent funding for the sector to implement security protection, especially for rural entities and additional subsidies for updating aging infrastructure, cyber defenses, and training.
Note
- One of the challenges with mandated security improvements is how to fund them. Funding must be provided not only to implement added security but also operate it. Often funding for licenses ends after three years on the assumption that base budgets will be increased to absorb them, partly on the belief the new capabilities will be more cost efficient negating this gap. Effort is required from all parties to ensure they are prepared to operate after the funding ends, otherwise there is no value in initiating the change.
Read more in
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- Water utilities rattle the cup on Capitol Hill for cyber
- Public Water Systems at Cybersecurity Risk, Lawmakers Hear
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- Critical Infrastructure Preparedness and Resilience: A Focus on Water
