The INCIBE Chair in Water Digitalisation and Cybersecurity of the UdG promotes cybersecurity as a fundamental pillar to protect water infrastructures

• The conference brought together 160 expert professionals to analyse the challenges posed by digitalisation in the water sector

The National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE), an entity dependent on the Ministry for Digital Transformation, and the INCIBE Chair of Digitalization and Water Cybersecurity of the University of Girona carried out the Technical Conference on Cybersecurity Applied to the Urban Water Cycle, organized within the framework of the Water Innovation Day. The latter, an event organised by the Catalan Water Partnership that brought together 160 professionals and experts in the auditorium of the CosmoCaixa Science Museum to analyse the challenges posed by digitalisation in the water sector.

The activity is part of the agreement between INCIBE and the University of Girona entitled “INCIBE Chair of Digitalisation and Water Cybersecurity” included in the Cybersecurity Chairs programme in Spain, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, with funding from the Next Generation-EU Funds. Within the framework of this collaboration, other events and conferences will be held focused on training and promoting aspects related to cybersecurity specifically aimed at the water sector.

The session began with a welcome and networking activity, after which two technical presentations took place:

Manel Poch, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Girona (UdG), presented the initiative of the INCIBE Chair in Digitalisation and Water Cybersecurity at the University of Girona, its mission and objectives, and planned activities. Digitization is inevitably accompanied by an increase in the vulnerability of water infrastructures to cyberattacks: In this sense, in his talk the results of a report on water security in Spain were shared, according to which issues such as the effects on the continuity of the water service, the lack of information and training in the sector,  Obsolete infrastructures, or unknowns due to the application of the new regulatory framework, are some of the main concerns of the sector. In this environment, initiatives such as the Chair in Water Cybersecurity should make it possible to promote training and research, and contribute to boosting the water cybersecurity ecosystem in Catalonia and Spain, advancing in the sector’s cybersecurity.

Manel Medina, director of the master’s degree in cybersecurity management and professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), gave the main technical talk of the day, during which he warned about the increase in cyberattacks on critical infrastructures in the water sector and the need to adopt regulations such as NIS2, applying cybersecurity principles to water infrastructures but also to the entire supply chain. Throughout his talk he highlighted the impact of artificial intelligence on security and shared tips and best practices to improve the safety of water systems, In this sense, he pointed to network segmentation, staff training, collaboration between companies in the adoption of joint safety criteria at the sector level,  training and talent retention, as keys to improving resilience to emerging digital threats, among others.

In conclusion, the conference highlighted the growing urgency of strengthening cybersecurity in the urban water cycle sector, an area that is increasingly exposed to cyberattacks. Experts agree that the key to guaranteeing the continuity and reliability of water services lies in the adoption of innovative measures and structural changes that protect infrastructures, adapting them to the challenges of a constantly evolving digital environment.

About INCIBE

The National Institute of Cybersecurity is an entity dependent on the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service through the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, consolidated as a reference entity for the development of cybersecurity and digital trust of citizens and companies. In addition, it is a driver of social transformation and an opportunity for innovation, promoting R+D+i and talent.