PHILADELPHIA—August 26, 2021– NAWC congratulates Walter Lynch, American Water CEO and Eric Thornburg, SJW Group CEO, who were chosen to represent the water sector at Wednesday’s White House meeting.
Lynch and Thornburg met with President Biden, members of his cabinet and national security team, and private sector and educational leaders from across the country to discuss cybersecurity threats and ways to work collaboratively to prevent and mitigate malicious cybersecurity breaches.
“The work underway by the Biden Administration to protect the nation’s critical utility assets speaks to the importance of the electric, gas and water sectors working collaboratively to secure the overall integrity of our utility grid,” said Robert F Powelson, NAWC President & CEO. “We commend President Biden on recognizing the impact both the private and public sectors can achieve when they work together to make cybersecurity a front and center issue, and a policy priority moving forward. Ultimately, the key to a successful cybersecurity system for our industry will come down to adopting and adhering to a strict compliance regimen for all utility providers.”
“American Water’s and SJW Group’s leadership and unwavering commitment to protecting our water grid, and their unrelenting focus on delivering clean and safe water to communities nationwide are core values of all NAWC member companies,” Powelson commented further.
Earlier this year, Powelson authored a thought piece on cybersecurity, that ran in Financial Research Institute’s Point of View.