CISA, FBI, and EPA have released a collaborative guide to empower owners and operators in the Water and Wastewater Systems (WWS) Sector with best practices for cybersecurity incident response. This resource, developed in partnership with over 25 WWS Sector industry, nonprofit, and government partners, encompasses key stages of the incident response lifecycle. The guide offers insights into preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident activities. It emphasizes the importance of having an incident response plan, timely reporting, and coordinated messaging, emphasizing the constant threat that the Water and Wastewater Systems sector faces from malicious cyber actors.
Eric Goldstein, CISA Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, highlighted the significance of this guidance in supporting the WWS sector, encouraging organizations to implement the recommended actions. Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division emphasized the FBI’s commitment to combating cyber threats against critical infrastructure, stressing the importance of partnerships and information sharing. EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Radhika Fox, acknowledged the real and urgent risk that cyber threats pose to the water sector and expressed commitment to collaboration for increasing sector resilience.
