THE White House has initiated Project Watershed 250, a program aimed at enhancing cybersecurity for water and wastewater systems, starting with a pilot in Texas. Announced by Governor Greg Abbott and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, the initiative offers federal and private sector resources at no cost to utilities, particularly targeting vulnerabilities stemming from cyber threats, notably from Chinese and Iranian nation-state actors.
Major cybersecurity firms like Microsoft and Google will support the program over six months. This launch follows increasing cyber-attacks in the water sector, which the FBI reports have affected numerous providers across several states.