"Bipartisan Bill Proposes Cybersecurity Funds for Rural Water Systems"

A new bill announced on June 5, 2023, proposes increasing cybersecurity funding for rural water systems by $7.5 million per year.  It's not a lot of money for part of the critical infrastructure, but it's better than nothing for an area that misses out on other funding.  House Committee on Agriculture introduced the "Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act of 2023." The bill is a simple amendment that adds $7.5 million per year to existing legislation and states that the new money provided for each year from 2024 through 2028 "shall be used to provide cyber security technical assistance." This bill focuses on very specific and small water utilities that serve less than 10,000 customers.  The proposed bill allocates $7.5M annually for five years to assist these utilities with cybersecurity issues through "technical assistance" under the USDA's Circuit Rider program.  

SecurityWeek reports: "Bipartisan Bill Proposes Cybersecurity Funds for Rural Water Systems"