Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar Series: Cybersecurity
August_2023 Small Systems Webinar Flyer
Cybersecurity
August 29, 2023
2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET
Tools and Resources to Help Your Small Systems Build Cyber Resilience
This presentation will provide utilities with information on freely available resources and funding opportunities that utilities can take advantage of to reduce the threat of cyber attacks.
Nushat Thomas, M.S. Nushat Thomas is the Cybersecurity Branch Chief within EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division, leading a team of cybersecurity analysts to ensure water and wastewater systems are prepared to respond and recover from cyber incidents. She joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 as a member of both the Communications and Interdependencies Team and the Preparedness, Response and Recovery Team. Before joining EPA, she was employed as an Environmental Analyst responsible for managing the environmental compliance programs and permits at the Potomac River coal-fired generating plant. Prior to this, she served on active duty in the United States Army as an Environmental Science Engineering Officer at Fort Bragg, NC, where she served as Chief of the Installations’ Environmental Health Section. She continues to serve within the District of Columbia Army National Guard. She has earned a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Water Distribution System Operational Technology Cybersecurity Research at the Water Security Test Bed
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead federal agency responsible for working with water utilities to protect water systems. Cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure worldwide are on the rise. The Agency has developed the first-of-its-scale water security test bed (WSTB), which replicates a section of a typical municipal drinking water piping system with roughly 450 feet of pipe, water quality sensors, hydrants, and valves. The purpose of conducting research at the WSTB facility has been to evaluate infrastructure and premise plumbing decontamination technologies and mobile emergency water treatment systems. In the future, the focus will be prevention, mitigation, and quick return-to-service of distribution system Operational Technology (OT) hardware and software compromised by cyber-attacks.
Jeff Szabo, Ph.D. Jeff Szabo has a BS in Chemical Engineering and a MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering, all from the University of Cincinnati and is a registered Professional Engineer in Ohio. He has worked for the USEPA for 18 years. He conducts and manages water security research projects at EPA’s Test and Evaluation (T&E) facility and the Water Security Test Bed (WSTB) at the Idaho National Lab (INL). These projects include examining chemical, biological and radiological contaminant persistence on drinking water and waste water infrastructure and evaluation of decontamination and water treatment methods.