ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As water and wastewater treatment plants across the country come under attack by cyber criminals, News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke took a tour of one of the biggest wastewater treatment plants in New York to see what’s being done locally to protect critical infrastructure.
The Frank E. VanLare Water Treatment Plant, located in Monroe County, is staffed around the clock and secured with gates, fences, and dozens of cameras. But physical security is only part of the equation.
The plant treats 30 billion gallons of water every year. Water that goes down drains and toilets in homes and many of the storm drains in the community. It is processed at the facility, where waste and pollutants are removed before the treated water is sent back into Lake Ontario.
“One of the things that’s unique about this plant is that the controls that actually operate the functioning within the treatment plant run on their own closed fiber network that is separate and apart from say what a traditional internet connection would look like,” explains Monroe County Executive Adam Bello.
If something did happen to the computer system that controls the operation of the plant, officials say they have a backup plan. “We can actually pull that offline and run this plant manually as well,” Bello says.
A wave of cyber-attacks targeting water and water treatment plants have been reported in at least seven states over the past week. In many of those cases, it appears hackers exploited infrastructure directly connected to the internet that was inadequately secured.
Monroe County works with the EPA, the FBI and a state cyber security committee to test its safety protocols and backup plans regularly.
Jennifer Lewke (News10NBC): “Do you re-evaluate all the passwords and security mechanisms every week, every month, every year, how does that work?”
Adam Bello: “Yes, so, we’re constantly re-visiting every piece of the system.”
Bello was hesitant to share specifics for security reasons.
“We invest a lot of time and a lot of dollars into making sure that our systems are as protected as they can be, acknowledging nothing can be perfect and you’re always going to come under some kind of threat of an attack, but you have to be vigilant,” Bello says.
The wastewater treatment plant just completed a seven-year, $75 million upgrade. It’s one of the five biggest plants in the state and has been crucial to the EPA removing the region as an “area of concern.”
News10NBC Investigates: Cyberattacks on water and wastewater plants reported in 7 states; here’s what Monroe County is doing to keep its system safe WHEC.com.
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