The hackers fighting to keep our water safe

Across the U.S., the digital infrastructure that runs our utilities is quickly aging, becoming more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Recently at least a dozen states reported attacks on their water systems. Stepping up to defend these utilities is DEF CON Franklin, an organization that pairs expert volunteers with infrastructure operators who want to step up their cyberdefense. To learn about how the program works, Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman talks with Eric Geller, a senior reporter at Cybersecurity Dive. They talk about why so many water treatment plants need a cybersecurity glow-up, how DEF CON Franklin came into being, how cybersecurity volunteers are helping protect rural communities and what the future of cybersecurity might look like. 

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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices