Got Water?

Got secure water?

Last year, noticing the lack of secure controls with our own local water utilities (not to mention the rise in cost if we wanted to water the gardens), I took advantage of a non-working shallow well on our land. 

The well head was dry, so after doing some research and making some notes, I rounded up the supplies needed to see if it was do-able.  After sinking the well pipe down an additonal 14 feet into the water table, obtaining a pump and other hardware, I can now say with confidence that if the water utilities ever get knocked out (natural cause or otherwise), I can get us up-and-running safe water, off grid in less than a day.

After reading the latest news hacks...  Yep.  Happy its there.  Just in case.
-TR Hilton

Water utility hackers destroy pump, expert says



Are our public water sources secure? 

  Hackers destroyed a pump used by a US water utility after gaining unauthorized access to the industrial control system it used to operate its machinery, a computer security expert said.

Joe Weiss, a managing partner for Applied Control Solutions, said the breach was most likely performed after the attackers hacked into the maker of the supervisory control and data acquisition software used by the utility and stole user names and passwords belonging to the manufacturer's customers. The unknown attackers used IP addresses that originated in Russia.

Weiss cited an official government report from the state where the regional water district was located. It was dated November 10, two days after the hack was discovered. The document indicates that the utility had been experiencing unexplained problems with its computerized system in the weeks leading up to the breach.

“Over a period of two to three months, minor glitches had been observed in remote access to the water district's SCADA system,” Weiss said during an interview, in which

he read a verbatim portion of the document to The Register. He said that the attackers were able to burn out one of the utility's pumps by causing either the pump or the SCADA system that controlled it to turn on and off “repeatedly.”

Weiss said he obtained the report on the condition that the water utility and the state where it's located aren't disclosed. A statement issued by the US Department of Homeland Security indicated the utility was located in Springfield, Illinois. Weiss published bare-bones details of the hack on Thursday because he wanted to bring attention to an incident he said raised serious concerns about the ability of the US government to secure critical infrastructure.

“This is really a big deal, and what's just as big a deal is what isn't being said or isn't being done,” Weiss said. “What the hell is going on with DHS? Why aren't people being notified?”

(Article Credit to writer Dan Goodin in San Francisco. 'UK The Register'.)