DEF CON volunteers step up to help water sector after China, Iran attack utilities

The report describes DEF CON Franklin, a volunteer-driven initiative mobilizing experienced cybersecurity professionals to provide free, practical support (OT mapping, password policies, vulnerability assessments, and deployment of truly free tools) to U.S. water utilities. Spurred by increasing nation-state threats from China’s Volt Typhoon and Iranian actors and limited federal support, the program is partnering with NRWA and others to scale nationally while addressing sector-specific challenges and skepticism. The effort aims to quickly raise baseline defenses for thousands of small, resource-constrained utilities, with the long-term goal of government-funded, standardized protections.