The EPA issued an enforcement alert and explained that cyberattacks on US water utilities were likely to happen soon because of poor cybersecurity. Here is what you need to know and what you can do if your public water source becomes contaminated or unusable.
First, understand the importance of this. Specifically, utility companies use software to operate. If the software is manipulated enough by hackers, water can become contaminated, people can become fatally ill and even die. Therefore, losing clean water can be an emergency.
To give examples of prevalence, in the past 12 months alone an Iranian group “Cyber Av3ngers”, Russian “hacktivist” organization and China-linked hacker operation “Volt Typhoon” inflicted massive turmoil on many utilities and citizens in Pennsylvania, Texas and other states.
Here’s the science. You can go about 30 days without food, but only about 3 days without water. Importantly, your body is made of up to ~75% water. Your lungs, skin, bowels and kidneys release a remarkable amount of water everyday. Your body releasing all that H2O can be dehydrating especially if you are not rehydrating. If you increase physical activity, the demand for water increases meaningfully.
So what happens if you become dehydrated because you don’t drink enough water? You may notice urine turning dark, fatigue, headaches, dry mouth and increasing thirst. In severe cases, seizures, kidney failure, coma, swelling of brain and death occur.
You can prepare in case of a water emergency. This way you can reduce your risk of becoming dehydrated or worse until things return back to normal.
Here Is What You Can Do To Prepare Now:
1. Go to Walmart/Target or go on Amazon and purchase water purification tablets. They are cheap and compact. They can help purify water in a jiffy.
2. Purchase gallons of water, not small bottled waters. More bang for your buck this way. The goal is to store around 2 weeks worth of water.
3. If you do want to purchase/store gallons of water (even though you should) you can purchase a Sawyer filter with bladder, Lifestraw, or Grail Water Purifier Bottle. These methods allow you to pick up water and purify it on the go.
4. Purchase a WaterBob. This is a foldable and compact collection unit used in the tub and can hold up to 100 gallons of water.
Here Is What You Can In The Event Of An Emergency:
1. If you think an emergency will occur then immediately fill your tub up with water using a WaterBob. A WaterBob will hold and maintain up to 100 Gallons of water in your bath tub.
2. If your state/town thinks there may be an emergency, then so will everyone else living there. Therefore, you will likely be out of luck finding water at grocery stores. Instead, consider places people don’t think sell water. For instance, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes all sell large quantities of water. Many people will not think to go there.
3. If local authorities advise, you may be able to boil water that is thought to be somewhat contaminated. However, better to have water on hand.
4. Bleach- According to CDC, “Add 8 drops or a little less than 1/8 of a teaspoon of 5%-9% unscented household bleach to 1 gallon water”.
As you can see, water is important. You can’t survive long without it. However, you just have learned small impactful tips to keep yourself safe if a cyber attack occurs and harms a water system near you.
References:
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-outlines-enforcement-measures-help-prevent-cybersecurity-attacks-and-protect
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/epa-warns-cyberattacks-water-utilities-frequent-severe-urges-110410219
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