Base Utilities Vulnerable to Cyber Attack

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Critical infrastructure such as water, electricity, and sewer on most Air Force bases is highly vulnerable to cyber attack, Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, USAF’s top uniformed cyber officer, told House lawmakers in testimony Thursday. “Right now, those systems are very much wide open,” said Webber. He added, “We haven’t even taken the low-hanging fruit steps” to address this issue. In most cases, off-site, private entities provide these utilities, said Webber. The Air Force is, however, working with the National Laboratory to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities in order to understand the infrastructure networks better, he said. The Navy faces the same issue. “A lot of this [infrastructure] is single source into a base,” explained Vice Adm. Bernard McCullough, Fleet Cyber Command boss. He continued, “If you take that capacity away, you have some capability on backup power generation, but very little in other resources.” (Webber’s prepared remarks)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org