BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN)......Last week's cyber attack on various Minnesota public water systems does serve as a cautionary tale for municipal governments.
And, that is certainly the case in Buffalo where the city has a series of precautions in place inside the Col. Ward Pumping Station.
Among them: Don't use personal laptops or other personal devices inside the building because they could lead to a virus making its way into the Col. Ward system.
The historic plant, located at the foot of Porter Avenue, supplies water to all of Buffalo.
"We believe all our systems are secure," said Deputy Mayor Ben Swanekamp.
But, Swanekamp cautions Buffalo takes nothing for granted.
The city's information systems team are constantly looking at new ways to keep all of Buffalo's municipal infrastructure systems cyber attack safe.
Are the perfect?
" We want it to be hard, even if an entity tried to hack into our systems," Swanekamp said.
In the Minnesota breach - something the FBI attributes to possible Iran loyalists - some 36 municipalities dealt with either a short shut down or threats of some level of interrruption.
Attacked were infrastructure used to manage and monitor water towers and plants.
The impact was minimal but still something to be watched, Swanekamp said.
In an emailed statement, the Erie County Water Authority said it is aware of "notifications" from the FBI and federal EPA about possible cyber security attacks on water systems across the nation.
Thus far, none have been detected by the Erie County Water Authority.
"We take cyber security very seriously," the water authority said in its statement.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said cyber security is a key issue for his department.
Rules prohibit the use of personal devices near county computer networks to prevent the spread of virus.
"We have a lot of sensitive information that needs protection," Garcia said.
City has safeguards in place that protect the Col. Ward Pumping Station
City has safeguards in place that protect the Col. Ward Pumping Station
