Nancy Stoner, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, has encouraged drinking water and wastewater utilities to adopt the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. Stoner is scheduled to speak at AMWA’s Water Policy Conference in April and will likely discuss this along with other federal initiatives for the water sector.
Developed in response to President Obama’s Executive Order 13636, the Framework was published in February. It is intended to help infrastructure owners and operators apply the principles and best practices of risk management to improving cybersecurity and securing critical infrastructure. The Executive Order directs federal agencies with jurisdiction over particular sectors – such as EPA for the water sector – to encourage owners and operators to adopt the Framework. For more details, read AMWA’s February Sustainability and Security Report.