Volunteer DEF CON hackers dive into America's leaky water infrastructure

The Franklin project, launched at DEF CON, partners the University of Chicago’s Cyber Policy Initiative with the National Rural Water Association to deploy volunteer hackers to assess and harden the cybersecurity of six U.S. water utilities across Utah, Vermont, Indiana, and Oregon. Aiming to build year-round resilience and document lessons in a “Hacker’s Almanack,” the initiative responds to escalating risks to America’s drinking water systems and the sector’s many small providers, amid concerns about nation-state interest in critical infrastructure.