Overview

October 10
11AM PT, 2PM ET

Register

Cyberattacks on water facilities are no longer isolated events—they’re a growing reality for communities across the country. In March 2024, the White House issued a warning to U.S. governors: threat actors are actively targeting the operational technology and information systems that control water treatment and distribution. In multiple cases, attackers have compromised critical water facilities.

While that alert sparked action at the federal level, many local utilities—especially in rural areas—are still vulnerable. Budgets are tight. Cyber expertise is scarce. And much of the infrastructure in service today was built long before modern threats even existed. The result? A widening attack surface that’s all too easy for adversaries to find and exploit.

Join Government Technology, YISDA and the State of Utah’s Chief Information Security Officer for a live webinar where we’ll share proven, real-world strategies to protect critical water infrastructure quickly, effectively, and without major disruption.

What You Will Learn:

  • Awareness-Focused: How and why we became aware that attackers are increasingly focused on compromising water and other critical infrastructure, and why immediate action is essential to protect public safety.
  • Skills-Focused: How the often-overlooked intersection between IT and OT creates blind spots that attackers exploit—and how to pinpoint and mitigate vulnerabilities such as insecure vendor access, open ports, legacy protocols, and PLC weaknesses.
  • Action-Focused: What proven steps the State of Utah has taken to mitigate these cyber challenges—and what actions you can take to secure your state’s critical infrastructure, access funding, and deploy solutions with measurable impact.

Speakers

Phil Bates headshot

Phil Bates

Chief Information Security Officer, State of Utah

Phil Bates has served as the State of Utah’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) since 2015, collaborating under three CIOs and two governors by understanding their distinct priorities and adapting his security communications accordingly. With a background in law enforcement and public safety, he’s become a visionary in state cybersecurity. Among his achievements are the founding of the Utah Cyber Center, deployment of MFA for UtahID, automation of device inventory, championed cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and pioneering AI-enabled threat detection. His proactive telework planning streamlined Utah's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his leadership earned him recognition as one of GovTech’s “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers.” Currently, he is guiding the state’s cybersecurity strategy—integrating advanced cybersecurity solutions throughout the state including innovative solutions for protecting water infrastructure.

Steve Fletcher headshot

Steve Fletcher

Vice President of Government Affairs, Yisda Secure, LLC

Steve has worked throughout his career as an entrepreneur, consultant, and thought leader, to help build and transform organizations, using technology to enable business efficiency. Mr. Fletcher has a wide variety of experience, in both the private and public sectors. Mr. Fletcher oversaw the Federal Government's efforts to deploy and operate a nationwide public safety broadband network (FirstNet). In addition, Mr. Fletcher also served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for both the state of Utah and the U.S. Department of Education. Mr. Fletcher cofounded two technology start up companies, building both to provide unique industry solutions. Mr. Fletcher brings his years of experience to YISDA, helping to bring security solutions to protect our nation's critical infrastructure.

Lance Richardson headshot

Lance Richardson

Vice President of Operations, Yisda Secure LLC

Lance Richardson is a hands-on entrepreneur and technical leader with more than 15 years of experience in Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Currently serving as Chief Operations Officer at Yisda, Lance has built his career at the intersection of technology, infrastructure, and security. He began in the field—deploying water infrastructure systems, troubleshooting SCADA environments, and integrating new technologies where uptime and reliability were non-negotiable. That experience instilled a rare perspective: the ability to translate practical field challenges into scalable technology solutions. Through the course of his career Lance, helped patent water treatment and infrastructure innovations, founded and grew technology startups in the industrial water, energy and (ESG) Environmental Safety and Governance space, and developed and scaled software applications and tools for operators to improve process automation, visualization, and business controls. Lance’s journey also revealed a critical truth: once OT systems are exposed to IT networks and remote access, they become prime targets for cyber threats. Determined to address this gap, Lance and the team at Yisda developed a next-generation cloaked overlay network that extends zero trust to industrial environments—making critical assets undiscoverable and inaccessible to unauthorized actors, whether virtual or physical.

Deborah A Snyder headshot

Deborah A Snyder — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Deb is an accomplished C-level executive, influencer and educator who has dedicated her career to improving state and local government services through policy and technology innovation. She has a broad range of experience in government programs, policy, cybersecurity, privacy and information technology. She formerly served as New York state’s chief information security officer, where she led the state’s cybersecurity programs and directed the NYS Cyber Command Center. She works with organizations and universities to strategically strengthen cybersecurity programs, defenses and preparedness, and to create and inspire the next generation of cyber leaders.

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