Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

DELANO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement after hosting a water cybersecurity workshop with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  The workshop provided training to protect water and irrigation districts from cyber threats, and other technological compromises.

“Access to safe and affordable drinking water is not just a Central Valley issue or a California issue, it is a global issue,” said Senator Hurtado. “As water scarcity intensifies around the world, our partnership with CISA is critical to our national security. Cyber-attacks put our human security at risk, by jeopardizing the stability of our water, food and agriculture systems. I am thankful to partner with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to offer this invaluable training and thankful that so many California water and irrigation districts were interested and able to attend. I hope our water districts learned something new that will strengthen the protections of the state’s water system.”

“We know that the services upon which the American people depend, including the water that we drink and need to grow our food, relies on the Internet and networked technologies.  Ensuring the security of these technologies – as well as the physical infrastructure - is a top priority for CISA,” said David Rosado, director of CISA’s Region 9, which covers California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. “We were honored to have the opportunity today to share our services and information with local water and irrigation districts. Together, we can harden our infrastructure and protect these critical services.”

Senator Hurtado hosted a Water Cybersecurity Workshop with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).  She was joined by more than sixty water and irrigation districts across California. These districts were updated by the Department on ways they can secure their networks, and actions that should be taken if there is a security breach. CISA also discussed current threats, and their impact to water and irrigation districts.

California’s existing cybersecurity defenses leave the food, agricultural and water industries vulnerable to cyberattacks and cyber threats. These cyberattacks threaten the health and safety of Californians who purchase products and utilize services from these companies.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure sectors, including the food and agriculture sector. These cyberattacks, predominantly made up of phishing attempts and ransomware, provide intruders with access to technology systems, money, and sensitive data and information. The food and agriculture sector is particularly at risk for cyberattacks due to a lack of preparedness that stems from limited existing federal and state regulations.

Senator Hurtado’s SB 892, which is currently on the Assembly Floor, takes action to combat the growing issue of cyber threats and cyberattacks by directing the Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) and the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) to develop outreach and funding plans to improve cybersecurity preparedness in the food and water sectors.

About CISA

As the nation’s cyber defense agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day. Visit CISA.gov for more information.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders, as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and as a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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