Critical Cybersecurity Elements Impacting Water Management Systems

This report examines the application of cybersecurity elements to water management systems in the United States, focusing on which of the seven elements—political, economic, policy, social, defense, criminal, and technical—are most impactful in enabling or supporting cyberattacks on this critical infrastructure. The report defines each element, identifies key players, and assesses their threat rating (low, medium, or high) based on potential damage. The analysis highlights the high impact of political, economic, policy, and technical elements due to conflicting interests, high costs of defense, and rapid technological advancements. Social and defense elements also pose risks, while the criminal element is considered medium due to its dependence on other factors. The report emphasizes the need for proper laws, government activities, national education, communication plans, and elevated cybersecurity importance across different spheres to control these risks and protect water management systems.

Running head: CYBER SECURITY ELEMENTS TO WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
CYBER SECURITY ELEMENTS TO WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

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CYBER SECURITY ELEMENTS TO WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Cyber risks is considered as one of the top threats that business face and mainly by the
critical infrastructures in the United States. As per studies it has been revealed that more than
20,000 employees are of the opinion that the cyber threats are what they are afraid of as these
impact the operations of the firms and are the reason for the loss of revenue. The water and
the waste water sector is facing growing number of attacks that include ransomeware attacks,
tampering with the Industrial control systems, manipulation of the valves and flow
operations, chemical treatment formulations and similar efforts that disrupt as well as destroy
the operations of the organization (Rasekh et al., 2016). In this paper, the seven elements that
will be discussed that have a significant impact on the critical infrastructures related to water
management system in the context of frequent cyber attacks.
The seven elements of risk that make up the critical information infrastructure
protection (CIIP) threat are as given below:
1. Political element- The impact of the political element can be said to be as very high as in
this case the players involved are federal government, state government, lobbyists, academic
advocates, political parties and many others. As the group consists of individuals from
different realms there is lack of cohesive focus which results in wrong investments and has
serious impact (Panguluri, Nelson & Wyman, 2017). There needs to be proper policies in
place for water management systems but as the players do not have a common voice it is
difficult. Thus it can be said that this adds on to the already difficult challenge for coming up
with national policy thus proving it true in context of cybersecurity.
2. Economic element- The cost related to the comprehensive defensive security of critical
infrastructures is high but this can certainly be accomplished if public accepts the higher costs
of living. Large water management infrastructures are of the opinion that as they have multi-
faceted systems it is difficult to defend against the various attacks of cyber security. In order

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to bring in reductions in the cost the water management systems outsource cybersecurity
solutions that make them more vulnerable to outside attacks Cerrudo, C. (2015). Thus it can
be said economic element has a high impact.
3. Policy element- This element often confused with political one but these elements are not
same and can be considered similar. There are different players from varied backgrounds thus
it is common thing that some are in favor of certain policies or standards while others prefer
different standards. This gives rise to conflicts and makes the system vulnerable to outside
threats. Hence, the impact of this element is high (Cherdantseva et al., 2016).
4. Social element- Before the advent of the internet, this element was negligible. At present
times people are using more of social media along with other user focused applications. As
per the reports of US Federal Agencies cyber security incidents have dramatically increased
in between 2006 and 2012 Cerrudo, C. (2015). The social media details are being tracked
down and sensitive informations extracted which are used against critical infrastructures if
these details are that of some employee working there. Thus there are medium to high
chances that due to negligence, lack of understanding as well as ignorance there security may
be compromised through the usage of social media (Taormina et al., 2017).
5. Defense element- It can seem that defense is not a primary element in critical
infrastructures but actually it is. The cyber threat is high in case of the DOD related
infrastructures. It can be said that if better defensive plans, expertise along with policies are
not put forward then this can certainly have a critical impact (Di Sarno, Garofalo, Matteucci
& Vallini, 2016). The major risks in this case are disrupting the weapon systems, cyber attack
on the water management system present at military infrastructures and many more. The risk
in this case is critical as water management systems can be targeted by rival countries to harm

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the defense personnel as it is easier as compared to using weapons. Data can be tracked and
this used against military bodies.
6. Criminal element- This element in general is given a lot of attention but in reality the
impact of this is medium. Criminal element results in pain as well as loss of freedom and loss
of financial stability. In the context of water management system, the criminal element is
medium because it is dependent on other factors such as human errors and if an infrastructure
takes proper provision to safeguard its resources then criminal activities can be avoided to a
great extent.
7. Technical element- The technological advancements are rapid these days and thus it is
difficult to keep a pace with these (Wang et al., 2015). With the adoption of new technologies
in water management systems such as big data analytics to track the usage of water make the
systems vulnerable to data breaches. Thus this poses threats and various risks to critical
infrastructures. Hence, the risks due to technical elements are high in the context of water
management critical infrastructures.
These elements can certainly be controlled by taking some measures such as
establishing proper laws and associated government activities for each of the above discussed
elements. National education and well as certain communication plans can be established.
Lastly, the importance of cyber security needs to be elevated in different spheres.

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CYBER SECURITY ELEMENTS TO WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
References
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