Hackers are after your water. How this town defends against them.

Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.

He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.

On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant.

Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory.

But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks.

The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real.

Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water.

And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country.

Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy