Water utility attacks intensify Hill push to renew CISA state grants
The House reauthorized the program through 2033 without appropriating a dollar, and the Senate hasn't moved, with the September 30 expiration weeks away.
TL;DR
Iran-linked attacks on water utilities in at least seven states have injected urgency into Congressional efforts to reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program before it expires September 30. More than 30 Minnesota systems were hit. The House passed Rep. Andy Ogles's (R-TN) bill extending the program through 2033 in November, but it appropriates nothing. House appropriators separately proposed $50 million for FY 2027, a fraction of the $1 billion distributed over the program's initial four years. The Senate hasn't moved. CISA is responding to ongoing exploitation of programmable logic controllers at water facilities claimed by Iran-linked CyberAv3ngers.
The Iran-linked campaign against municipal water systems has given Congress a concrete case for reauthorizing SLCGP, and exposed the gap between bipartisan rhetoric and actual funding. House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) told Inside Cybersecurity the attacks "underscore the importance of preserving CISA's information sharing authorities and ensuring state and local governments have access to the tools and support they need." He described local water systems as "operating with aging technology, limited resources, and small staffs."
The House passed Rep. Andy Ogles's (R-TN) reauthorization bill on November 17, extending the program through 2033 with changes to cost-sharing and new MFA language. But the bill appropriates zero dollars. House appropriators separately proposed $50 million for FY 2027 at a June 29 markup. The initial four-year authorization distributed $1 billion; $50 million is a sharp cut from the $300 million-plus annual run rate the program maintained at its peak.
The Senate hasn't taken up reauthorization, and Ogles has acknowledged his bill faces challenges there. Senate Homeland Security Democrats, through a committee aide, tied the water utility attacks directly to the need for reauthorization and criticized the Trump administration's CISA workforce reductions, which the aide said cut staff "by roughly one-third."
On the ground, CISA issued a July 30 alert urging water utilities to secure programmable logic controllers. The EPA and FBI issued a companion PSA confirming incidents in at least seven states, with some utilities reporting degraded operations. CyberAv3ngers, an Iran-affiliated group, has claimed responsibility on Telegram. The SLCGP was designed to help precisely these small and rural systems harden their networks. Whether the money arrives before the next campaign is now a question for the Senate.
Published ·Deep Fathom