The hackers fighting to keep our water safe
About this episode
The episode discusses the vulnerabilities of U.S. water systems to cyber attacks and how DEF CON Franklin is helping to protect them.
Across the U.S., the digital infrastructure that runs our utilities is quickly aging, becoming more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Recently at least a dozen states reported attacks on their water systems. Stepping up to defend these utilities is DEF CON Franklin, an organization that pairs expert volunteers with infrastructure operators who want to step up their cyberdefense. To learn about how the program works, Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman talks with Eric Geller, a senior reporter at Cybersecurity Dive. They talk about why so many water treatment plants need a cybersecurity glow-up, how DEF CON Franklin came into being, how cybersecurity volunteers are helping protect rural communities and what the future of cybersecurity might look like. Recommended Reading: Hackers Could Use Electric Vehicle Chargers to Attack the Power Grid Massive CrowdStrike Tech Outage Highlights Global Vulnerabilities Scientists just built a powerful AI computer worm that learns as it spreads E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for…
People in this episode
Host: Rachel Feltman
Guest: Eric Geller
Topics covered
- cybersecurity
- water safety
- infrastructure
- volunteerism
- utility defense
Keywords
- cyber attacks
- water treatment plants
- DEF CON Franklin
- infrastructure security
- volunteer cybersecurity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: DEF CON Franklin, Cybersecurity Dive, Scientific American
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