New York boosts funding for water cybersecurity grants Reminding everyone that not all of the nation’s water infrastructure will be so readily disrupted by cyberattack, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul this week announced more than $9 million in grants to improve the cybersecurity of dozens of water systems across the state. One hundred and fifty-three local government projects are set to receive funding through Strengthening Essential Cybersecurity for Utilities and Resiliency Enhancements, or SECURE, a grant program created to support new cybersecurity standards governing the state’s water and wastewater utilities. The program includes grants of $50,000 for cybersecurity assessments and $100,000 for implementing cybersecurity upgrades. The regulations hold that facilities must implement common cybersecurity controls, such as limiting users’ access to only systems they need, prohibiting the use of default credentials and requiring complex passwords and multifactor authentication. Larger treatment plants, those processing at least 10 million gallons of water per day, are required to begin monitoring and logging network activity. And treatment plant operators will be required to complete cybersecurity training, every five years, to renew their certifications (though the regulations offer assurance that their total training hours will not increase). When officials unveiled the new cybersecurity regulations for New York water utilities in March, Colin Ahern, the state’s former cyber director, who recently became New York’s first director of security and intelligence, said the new rules would move the state “beyond reactive defense.” In at least two press releases, New York officials have said the SECURE program would offer just $2.5 million in grants, an amount that fell short of funding all of the water utilities that had expressed interest. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to an email asking why funding had been increased to $9 million, but in a press release Monday, Hochul said the