DEF CON hackers plug security holes in US water systems

The DEF CON Franklin project has expanded from helping five water utilities across four states to planning a massive scale-up to protect thousands of US water systems. Volunteer hackers provide free cybersecurity services including password management, multi-factor authentication setup, asset inventories, and network assessments. The initiative addresses critical vulnerabilities as nation-state actors like China's Volt Typhoon have breached hundreds of utilities, including small municipal systems that support military installations and hospitals. With federal funding cuts and 50,000 water utilities nationwide lacking dedicated cybersecurity staff, the project aims to deploy free security tools and expertise to resource-constrained facilities.