US critical infrastructure faces rising cyber threats to water systems

State and local governments in the United States are facing increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure, including water systems, schools, and hospitals. These entities often lack the sufficient budgets required to implement necessary digital defenses against state-backed threat actors.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recently issued an advisory regarding an “active threat” targeting Siemens S7 series programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These industrial devices are essential for controlling equipment such as valves, motors, and pumps in vital operations like sewage and water management.

In 2024, Russian-affiliated actors successfully exploited vulnerabilities to breach a small town's water system in Texas, causing a water tank to overflow. To address these vulnerabilities, there are calls for the U.S. government to clarify existing tax codes to better support state and local governments in making iterative purchases of essential cybersecurity software.