Today the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released Homeland Threat Assessment, an unclassified document that provides information into the department’s current threat priorities. The document includes only one reference to water but many references to critical infrastructure security generally, particularly with respect to cybersecurity. The report noted that Russia, China and North Korea have varying abilities to conduct cyber attacks against critical infrastructure. DHS assessed Russia “can disrupt or damage” infrastructure while it “remain[s] concerned about China’s intent to compromise U.S. critical infrastructure in order to cause disruption or destruction” Conversely, it stated North Korean cyber operations are primarily motivated by financial considerations but asserted North Korea “could quickly build capabilities” to attack critical infrastructure if its motivations change. Criminal groups were also cited, as the report noted they “increasingly will target U.S. critical infrastructure to generate profit, whether through ransomware, e-mail impersonation fraud, social engineering, or malware.”

Other threats to critical infrastructure were described throughout the document. The report’s terrorism section assessed that, of domestic violent extremists, “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists—specifically white supremacist extremists (WSEs)—will remain the most persistent and lethal threat” to the United States while foreign terrorist organizations will be limited in their abilities to act throughout the next year. DHS also addressed natural disasters, noting they “pose a significant threat to human health and safety, property, critical infrastructure, and homeland security while subjecting the nation to frequent periods of insecurity, disruption, and economic loss.” This section specifically noted “reduced water quality” among the potential consequences of wildfires, the only time water is specifically mentioned in the document.