Texas Cyber Command Joins Federal Water Sector Cybersecurity Pilot

Texas is serving as the testing ground for a six-month cybersecurity pilot aimed at helping water and wastewater utilities strengthen their defenses against cyber threats.

Project Watershed 250 launched Monday in San Antonio, where Gov. Greg Abbott joined White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross to announce the initiative. The project brings together Texas Cyber Command, federal agencies, state and local partners and private-sector cybersecurity resources.

The pilot is designed to connect water and wastewater providers with cyber defense assistance at no cost. Abbott’s office said the effort will combine federal and private-sector capabilities with state and local expertise to help participating utilities identify vulnerabilities and improve their security posture.

Fox News reported that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are participating as federal partners. Microsoft, Reflection AI, Palo Alto Networks and industrial cybersecurity company Dragos are among the participating companies.

The program will use cybersecurity and AI tools to help utilities find and address vulnerabilities. Axios reported that the six-month effort is intended to serve as a model that could be expanded to other states and rural communities.

The initiative places particular emphasis on smaller and rural utilities, which the governor’s office said can lack the resources needed to maintain robust cyber defenses. Project Watershed 250 is intended to give those providers access to tools and expertise that may otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Abbott’s office said the initiative is also intended to make Texas water systems more difficult targets for hostile foreign adversaries and strengthen the resilience of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.

Texas Cyber Command will play a central role in that effort as the agency continues building out its statewide cybersecurity capabilities. Chief TJ White told lawmakers Aug. 19 that the command has operationalized its Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence Center and Information Sharing and Analysis Organization, while work continues on the Unified Cyber Task Force and a Digital Forensics Laboratory being developed with the University of Texas at San Antonio.

White also told lawmakers that the command is working with the Department of Information Resources on continuous monitoring of outbound state web traffic and is exploring ways to improve cybersecurity support for local governments. He said the state’s Volunteer Incident Response Team had about 178 members at the time of his testimony and could grow substantially.

Project Watershed 250 extends that work into water and wastewater infrastructure, giving the command another role in supporting local entities and protecting critical systems.

The six-month pilot will test the approach in Texas while federal officials evaluate whether the model can be expanded more broadly.