Following on from the publication of Black & Veatch’s Strategic Directions 2017 Water Industry Report, the consultancy has raised the issue of whether the water industry is currently undervaluing cybersecurity.

According to Black & Veatch, while technology is creating new efficiencies across the sector, the question is whether water utilities are prepared for the accompanying security risk.

Yahoo!, the Democratic National Convention and the U.S. Department of Justice were among the high-profile victims hit by major cyber attacks in 2016. Black & Veatch is warning:

“Many people believe it’s only a matter of time before a water utility joins the list.”

“ Some consider physical security to be the weak link in ensuring a well-protected water supply; while others worry that the Internet of Things has created an incalculable number of entry points for hackers to create mischief.”

The consultancy has highlighted the range of challenges the water industry now faces in a number of countries, including:

• near crisis-level aging infrastructure
• rising costs
•  justifying rate increases
• achieving threat resilience
• an aging workforce.

And while advances from increased digitalization promise new water management efficiencies, Black & Veatch has warned that “they also offer more potential vectors for hackers that can lead to disabling critical infrastructure or releasing personal information.”

Despite this, the consultancy’s 2017 Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report suggests that potential cyber threats do not appear to have led to broader investments in either systems or applications to lock down key assets.

The Report reveals that 57 percent of respondents are spending less than $1 million annually on physical security for water treatment plants and large remote facilities, while another 59 percent say they are budgeting less than $1 million per year on cybersecurity for IT.

On the positive side, over a third of survey respondents are spending up to $5 million a year to strengthen  their security efforts in these two critical areas.

Black & Veatch also say that the survey responses provide reasons for cautious optimism that risk and vulnerability assessments are being funded and completed. More than 50 percent of water utility survey respondents indicated they have completed a risk or vulnerability assessment in the past five years.

However, the consultancy has concluded that more still needs to be done because “the industry as a whole appears to be underinvesting in, and undervaluing, security.”

David Mayers, Senior Managing Director, Black & Veatch, commented:

“How water utilities can best protect water supplies while mitigating security risks – such as the exposure of sensitive customer financial information – has become a critical issue.”

Click here to download Black & Veatch’s 2017 Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report

Waterbriefing is media partner with the 4th Annual Industrial Control Cybersecurity Europe Summit in London this September. 

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