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Last March the Biden Harris White House sent a letter to all governors about the possibility of a cyber attack on water systems. There are 170,000 water systems in the U.S.
The letter pointed to the China-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon's targeting of critical infrastructure sectors like drinking water in the U.S. as an example of a threat. National security officials have been focusing on Volt Typhoon's intrusion and suggesting that China is pre-positioning itself to carry out disruptive attacks in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
March was also the same month that the Biden Harris administration started tracking avian flu among dairy cattle and unbeknown to most Americans declared an emergency. PHARMA then started manufacturing a bird flu vaccination even though no human then had contracted avian flu in the U.S. Only one case of a human catching avian flue has been reported in the U.S. in the last five months.
American Water Works Company, the New Jersey-based business responsible for providing water to more than 14 million people across 14 states and to 18 military bases, was hit with a cyber attack on October 3, according to their Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday.
So far, the cyberattack appears to have resulted in the loss of billing systems and no impact to water or wastewater services. No ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden Harris administration has faced heavy criticism for the sector’s vulnerability. The sector is a largely voluntary operation when it comes to cybersecurity efforts, which critics say is dependent on Congress revamping EPA’s authorities. The Government Accountability Office has also noted as recently as August 2024 that the EPA has not identified or prioritized the greatest risks in the sector.
The EPA has announced plans to increase water security inspections in response to the increasing threats.
A report boot of the policy will require the government to provide yearly risk mitigation updates through a national infrastructure plan.
No journalist brought up this topic in any 2024 debate.
While the American Water hack does not appear to impact vital services or operations, the company noted that it is “unable to predict the full impact of this incident” and disconnected some systems.
American Water, in its 8-K filing also notes that it does not expect the hack to have a “material effect on the company, or its financial condition or results of operations.”
The company took billing services offline as noted on its website so customers will not incur late charges and water services will not be shut off while they work to get back online.
The company has “contacted and [is] receiving assistance from law enforcement, and we are coordinating fully with them.”
In its 2023 annual report, American Water wrote that the company’s “capital investment totaled $2.7 billion, and we are well on track to deliver $3.1 billion in investments in 2024.”
The annual report also included a section on the company’s cybersecurity effort, highlighting a “defense-in-depth” strategy that uses the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity framework.
The company “periodically reviews and modifies the implementation of its cybersecurity strategy based on threat trends, program maturity, the results of assessments, and the advice of third-party security consultants,” reads the report.
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