The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in the water and wastewater industry. From cloud-based SCADA platforms to remote monitoring technologies and remote desktop protocols to access plant information remotely, water and wastewater utilities have adapted. But in doing so, it has opened them up to more security vulnerabilities.
Bill Moore is the founder and CEO of Xona, a provider of a zero trust platform for operational technology security. Moore explains how the pandemic has impacted OT changes for the water industry, the vulnerabilities it created for plants in the U.S. and the three basic steps that utilities can take to secure their operational networks. He also explains what utilities should look for and consider when evaluating remote operations technologies and what the future holds for utility operations across the country.
Timestamps
- Intro | 0:00
- Pandemic’s impact on operational technologies | 0:29
- Security vulnerabilities with remote connectivity | 1:28
- Challenges for small systems: time and staffing | 2:33
- 3 priorities for securing operational technology infrastructure | 3:09
- What does RDP stand for? | 5:24
- RDP is not always secure | 5:48
- What should utilities consider with remote monitoring technologies | 6:58
- The future of utility operations in the U.S. | 8:39
- Outro | 9:50
Additional Resources
- Watch last week’s video: https://www.wwdmag.com/videos/infrastructure-funding-update-water-industry-wwd-weekly-digest
- Read Bill Moore’s article about three security priorities: https://www.wwdmag.com/safety-security/3-priorities-securing-ot-network-infrastructure
- View the WWD Weekly Digest playlist: bit.ly/wwdweeklydigest
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