Water Sector: Critical Infrastructure
Drinking water supply and wastewater disposal are essential for life. NIS2 demands special protection for control systems and treatment plants.
Critical Assets in the Water Sector
OT systems that NIS2 aims to protect
Process Control Systems
SCADA for water works and treatment plants: central control of all processes.
Remote Control Technology
Remote stations, pumping stations, elevated tanks, often connected via insecure links.
Treatment Plants
Chemical dosing, UV disinfection. Manipulation has direct health consequences.
Measurement & Control
Quality sensors, flow measurement. Basis for automatic control.
Typical Risks in the Water Sector
Threats with potentially catastrophic consequences
Treatment Manipulation
Altering chemical dosing, disabling disinfection. Direct health hazard.
Supply Disruption
Ransomware disables pumping stations. No water for households and industry.
Legacy OT Systems
Controllers from the 90s, Windows XP. No patches, no segmentation.
Physical Security
Unsecured remote stations, wells, pump stations. Protect physically and digitally.
Key Measures for the Water Sector
Art. 21 NIS2 for the water sector
OT Risk Analysis
Inventory all controllers, sensors, remote stations. Assess criticality. Identify attack paths.
Incident Response
Emergency plans for cyber attacks on water supply. Coordination with health authorities and fire services.
Business Continuity
Manual control as fallback. Emergency supply via tanker trucks. Priority switching for critical consumers.
Secure Procurement
Security requirements in tenders. New installations per security-by-design. Vet suppliers.
Access Control
IT/OT network segmentation. Remote access only via secure VPN. Logging of all access.
Quick Wins for Water Utilities
- Secure remote access: VPN with MFA for all remote connections
- Isolate OT network: no direct connection to office IT
- Manual monitoring: regularly check critical parameters on-site
- Strengthen access control: who may change what?
- Backup control programs: save PLC programs
- Create emergency plans: what to do during a cyber attack?
NIS2 Compliance for Water Utilities
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