Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act

Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act

This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide cybersecurity technical assistance for rural water and wastewater systems.

The program must be structured similarly to the USDA Circuit Rider Program. Under this program, USDA provides technical assistance to rural water systems that serve areas with populations of 10,000 or fewer people and are experiencing day-to-day operational, financial, or managerial issues.

Specifically, the cybersecurity circuit rider program must provide technical assistance to rural water or wastewater systems to

• provide rapid assessments of the system's current ability or inability to respond to cybersecurity threats and protect cyber infrastructure,
• develop reasonable protocols to enhance cybersecurity protection,
• provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans, and
• document a system's current state of water supply cyber protection.