Water utility CISO offers tips to stay secure as IT and OT converge

April 26, 2021

SC Magazine

As critical infrastructure facilities increasingly converge their IT and OT systems, visibility into traditionally isolated operational systems is turning into a key security challenge. Kristin Sanders, chief information security officer for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, revealed last week how New Mexico’s largest water and wastewater utility has been addressing this challenge by leveraging a series of software solutions, sensors and internet-of-things tech.

Recognizing that the ABCWUA is “ahead of a lot of the water authorities” across the U.S. in terms of IT/OT modernization and compliance with the Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, Sanders offered advice to utilities that are seeking to make similar progress.