Cyber-attacks on water or wastewater utility business enterprise or process control systems can cause significant harm, such as:
-
Upset treatment and conveyance processes by opening and closing valves, overriding alarms or disabling pumps or other equipment
-
Deface the utility’s website or compromise the email system
-
Steal customers’ personal data or credit card information from the utility’s billing system
-
Install malicious programs like ransomware, which can disable business enterprise or process control operations
These attacks can: compromise the ability of water and wastewater utilities to provide clean and safe water to customers, erode customer confidence, and result in financial and legal liabilities.