EPA warns of increased cybersecurity scrutiny toward water systems

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasing its inspections of public drinking water systems after finding a majority of those reviewed were vulnerable to cyberattacks and related threats.

Cyberattacks against public drinking water systems have increased in recent years, posing a threat to public health and security, the EPA said. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires systems to be cyber secure.

But preliminary EPA inspections found more than 70 percent of systems checked were not secure. Some systems were using default passwords and single logins, which made them vulnerable to cybercriminals and threat actors, the agency said.