Our water supply is of existential importance and needs the best possible protection against cyber attacks
Water is -- said without pathos -- our elixir of life. After the air we breathe, we depend on nothing more to survive. We are made up of about 70 percent water and can survive only a few days without its replenishment. So it's fair to say that few other areas of critical infrastructure are as important to us as the supply of pure drinking water. But in the face of rising global tensions, there is growing concern that water supplies, which are as important as they are vulnerable, could become the target of cyberattacks.
Earlier this year, on January 11, 2022, the Joint Research Center of the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ERNCIP) published its Water Security Plan in the form of a handbook. This addresses the implementation of security measures to protect the physical and digital integrity of water supply systems. The plan is intended to enable drinking water supply operators to lay the groundwork for implementing specific measures to improve water system security against threats and attacks.