New Cyber Security Presentation Added to WEFTEC Safety and Security Technical Session

A presentation and demonstration of new research from the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) on securing water sector process control systems was just added to a featured session at WEFTEC.08, the Water Environment Federation’s 81st annual technical exhibition and conference and the largest water quality event in North America.

Featured Session 105, “Safety and Security Priorities at Wastewater Treatment Facilities,” takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room N226 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

“We are especially excited about the demonstration component of this presentation in helping convey the potential of the new tool, CS2SAT, in reducing cyber risk exposures,” said Session Moderator Alan Callier of Donohue & Associates. “Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the security challenges we face and how to address them successfully.”

WERF Principal Investigator Candace Chan-Sands of EMA, Inc., will discuss tools and guidance on how to secure and protect automated process control systems, such as SCADA, including the examination of available technology to sense and correct security breaches. She will present and demonstrate the Control Systems Cyber Security Self-Assessment Tool (CS2SAT), tailored specifically for water and wastewater facilities to identify cyber security vulnerabilities, which assists systems users and vendors in assessing the security of their systems against the database of categorized security requirements.

This cyber tool results from collaboration among WERF, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Water Works Research Foundation and Idaho National Laboratories, who collected the best available cyber security recommendations and guidance into a single database known as the Cyber Security Protection Framework. The presentation and demonstration will include how utilities have used the tool to reduce cyber risk exposures, and questions will be addressed during the concluding panel discussion.

Source: WEF