Is Butler prepared for cyberattacks from Iran or Russia?
Back in December, in this very spot in the paper, a piece warned there may soon come a day when we go to turn on the water tap or flip on a light or click up the thermostat and nothing happens. These things we take for granted are not guaranteed, and they are at real risk.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued the warning back in December, three days after hacktivists shut down a piece of equipment at the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in neighboring Beaver County. The hack effectively idled pumping equipment in a remote station that regulates water pressure for customers in two nearby towns. Crews switched to manual backup, officials said.
Overhauling the systems to counter or prevent such hacks can be a significant and costly job, the Associated Press reported. And without substantial federal funding, water systems struggle to find resources.
A report from Spotlight PA in March pointed out that the city of Reading has spent more than $701,000 on cybersecurity over the past five years. The money went to firewall maintenance, vulnerability testing and staff training, the city’s IT manager Ken Cochran told legislators. That amounted to about 8% of the department budget during that time.
To help governments nationwide deal with these hazards, Congress established the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. These grants, which are awarded first to states, can be used to devise or improve cybersecurity plans, implement those plans or address imminent threats.
In the program’s first two years, Pennsylvania received about $10.6 million. Those dollars paid for intrusion detection systems for 148 local government recipients, and 132 awardees got funding for digital best practices training, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency told Spotlight PA in an email.
The Associated Press reports cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, and the Environmental Protection Agency last Monday issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water.
Did any entity in Butler County apply for and receive any of the $10.6 million? Are local utilities prepared for such cyberattacks?
Let’s hope so.
— RJ
