Keynote speaker 2: Swimming against the current — Dealing with ICS cyber threats in the water sector

The Drinking Water Sector in the Netherlands is a vital part of the critical infrastructure of the Netherlands. The Drinking Water companies are responsible for reliable and clean drinking water of sufficient pressure and supply. Everybody trust tap water! The Waterboard companies are also part of the critical infrastructure of the Netherlands. They are responsible for the quality and safety of the inside and outside dikes which protect the Netherlands against an overflow of sea- and river water. Besides they are responsible for sewage water treatment and clean surface water of the right level. In order to perform all these tasks reliable and safe ICS and SCADA systems, PLC's and network connections with a high availability are frequently used. All these technologies also provide an increasing amount of process information shared at a later date with the business information systems. The data integrity of this process data is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately ICS and SCADA systems, PLC's, network components, network connections and data transfer protocols have digital vulnerabilities and weaknesses which can affect the availability, integrity, reliability and confidentiality of the core business of drinking water and water board companies. In this presentation, I will discuss the current cyber threats, challenges and business concerns of the Water Sector and what the Water Sector is doing to strengthen their digital resilience and to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their business operations.