Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act

Cortez Masto, Catherine

Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to&nbsp;provide cybersecurity technical assistance for rural water and wastewater systems.The program must be structured similarly to the USDA Circuit Rider Program. (Under this program, USDA&nbsp;provides technical assistance to rural water systems that serve areas with populations of 10,000 or fewer people and are experiencing day-to-day operational, financial, or managerial issues.)Specifically, the cybersecurity circuit rider program must provide technical assistance to rural water or wastewater systems to<ul><li>provide rapid assessments of the system's current ability or inability to respond to cybersecurity&nbsp;threats and&nbsp;protect cyber infrastructure,</li><li>develop reasonable protocols to enhance&nbsp;cybersecurity protection,</li><li>provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans, and</li><li>document a system's current state of water supply cyber protection.&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;