Understanding

The most serious physical threat that many water utilities have experienced is casual vandalism.  It's difficult for utility managers to conceive of a planned terrorist attack on their systems, especially in a smaller, less visible community.

Insider threats are also critically important.  System personnel have detailed knowledge of and access to system components. They are capable of causing severe damage before they can be discovered and stopped. 

Prevention

More stringent hiring practices and background checks of all potential employees should be incorporated into any utility’s procedures. Supervisors should also be trained to recognize signs of instability in an employee (drug or alcohol use, anger or a change in personality) so that appropriate steps to assist the employee can be taken to forestall a serious incident.  

While most utilities provide some type of security measures at remote facilities (e.g. fences and cameras) the measures taken are ineffective unless they are part of a well-designed security system. For example, a fence is of no value at a remote location in stopping a determined adversary unless an intrusion alarm notifies someone that the fence has been breached. 

Similarly, a video camera that requires someone to visually see an intruder in order to know of his presence is useless. Cameras should also be equipped with alarm features that activate the picture and notify an operator if an intruder is detected. This is particularly important at night when many attacks will occur and when a utility’s staffing is at a minimum. 

Strategy

Security measures need to be designed by an experienced security professional, as a complete system working together, and not as a series of unconnected components.