EPA Issues , National Drinking Water Warning.<br />On May 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a countrywide alert urging water utilities to take immediate action to safeguard drinking water from cyberattacks. .<br />On May 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a countrywide alert urging water utilities to take immediate action to safeguard drinking water from cyberattacks. .<br />The agency said that recent inspections indicate that 70% of water systems in America don't comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, 'Newsweek' reports. .<br />Some water utility systems have "critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities, such as default passwords that have not been updated and single logins that can easily be compromised.".<br />Cyberattacks have the potential to disrupt water treatment and storage, damage equipment.<br />and change chemical levels to dangerous amounts.<br />In many cases, systems are not doing what <br />they are supposed to be doing, which is to <br />have completed a risk assessment of their <br />vulnerabilities that includes cybersecurity <br />and to make sure that plan is available <br />and informing the way they do business. , EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe, via press release.<br />According to the EPA's warning, <br />countries like China, Russia and Iran.<br />have "disrupted some water systems with cyberattacks and may have embedded the capability to disable them in the future.".<br />Drinking water and wastewater systems <br />are an attractive target for cyberattacks <br />because they are a lifeline critical <br />infrastructure sector but often lack <br />the resources and technical capacity to <br />adopt rigorous cybersecurity practices, Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator, and White House National Security <br />Adviser Jake Sullivan, via March 18 letter to all 50 U.S. governors.<br />The EPA is offering to train water utilities <br />at no cost to correct some of the issues, .<br />but other issues are more complex and costly, <br />which many utilities companies aren't equipped for. .<br />Certainly, cybersecurity is part of that, <br />but that's never been their primary expertise. <br />So, now you're asking a water utility to <br />develop this whole new sort of department, Amy Hardberger, water expert at Texas Tech University, to AP
