Short Takes – 2-2-24

Water trade groups urge lawmakers to consider cyber training and more funding for their facilities. CyberScoop.com article.  Pull quote: ““The water operators are very receptive and they want the training and they want to make sure that they’re putting appropriate protections in place, so there’s not a resistance to doing something,” Tucker-Vogel said. “It’s just they have a lack of understanding of what it is they need to do and when you start talking cybersecurity, it’s almost like a foreign language.””

Why interstellar objects like ‘Oumuamua and Borisov may hold clues to exoplanets.ArsTechnica.com article.  Pull quote: “Now, ‘Oumuamua is beyond the orbit of Neptune, and comet Borisov is almost as far. They will continue their journey back into interstellar space, where it’s anyone’s guess what will happen next. Perhaps they will spend an eternity wandering the vast voids of space, or maybe they will be captured by a star. Or they could collapse into a disk of evolving gas and dust in a new planetary system and begin their journeys all over again.”

Markey, Heinrich, Eshoo, Beyer Introduce Legislation to Investigate, Measure Environmental Impacts of Artificial Intelligence. Markey.Senate.gov press release. S 3232, see Bills Introduced. Pull quote: “The legislation also requires an interagency study to investigate and measure both the positive and negative environmental impacts of AI. While researchers increasingly highlight that AI can help tackle environmental challenges, such as by accelerating clean energy innovation, providing better weather forecasts, and improving cooling efficiency, the rapid growth of AI also comes with environmental harms. For example, increasing AI use could contribute to data center electricity demand doubling by 2026, leading to more carbon emissions. Demand for water to cool data centers is already creating concerns about water supplies, and the chips needed to run AI software are contributing to a growing mountain of electronic waste.”

DOE Announces New Partnership with Westinghouse to Enhance Energy Supply Chain Security and Resilience. Energy.gov press release. Pull quote: “The CyTRICS program tests critical system components to identify cyber vulnerabilities before they are exploited, improving the integrity and reliability of the energy system. DOE connects equipment manufacturers, vendors, and utilities with state-of-the art, intelligence-informed analytic capabilities at its National Laboratories where they test operational technology components voluntarily submitted by the participating companies. As testing expands, CyTRICS is looking to identify systemic supply chain vulnerabilities and to help engineer yout cber weaknesses in next-generation systems, strengthening the security and resilience of software and hardware in the energy sector.”

Where’s the federal legislation for state water utility cybersecurity? Lengthy article. StateScoop.com article. Pull quote: “While cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure are not unique to public water utilities, New Jersey CISO Michael Geraghty said if attacks are successful, the devastation would be unprecedented. “It’s a common threat, but an uncommon impact,” Geraghty said. “I think everybody realizes just how critical the water sector is. And everybody has an interest in helping protect it.””

Stopping the Latest Outbreak Threat: Chronic Wasting Disease. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “A major problem with determining whether CWD has affected humans is that it has a long latency. People who consume prions may not contract the resulting disease until many years later — so, if someone fell sick, there might not be an apparent connection to having eaten deer.”