Cyber Security Discussed at Three Valleys MWD Leadership Breakfast
Three Valleys Board Changes Three Valleys Municipal Water District welcomed one new direc- tor and selected new leaders at year’s end. Jorge Marquez was elected to represent Division 6 in Novem- ber. Marquez, a resident of Pomona and a San Gabriel Valley native, has extensive regional water experience. He represented cities with pumping rights as Chairman Three Valleys is a wholesale water district serving 13 retail agency customers and is one of the 26 water agencies that make up the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. ment and your agency.” Wrapping up the event, TVMWD General Manager and Chief Engineer Matt Litchfield, commented: “Cyber security is no longer just IT’s responsibility. It’s all of our responsibility. As Heather stated, the best defense for cyber threats is to play offense and be prepared.”
By Amy Bentley Special Sections Writer
employee payroll, service contracts, customer billing, tele- communications, HVAC and more. “Know your full inventory,” she said. Collins shared best practices including having strong and unusual passwords, changing passwords often, having multi-factor authentication, knowing how to recognize email
T he importance of cyber security and how to avoid devas- tating cyberattacks led the keynote talk at Three Valleys Municipal Water District’s third Leadership Breakfast of 2024. Heather Collins, Director of Water Treatment for Metropoli-
President on Dec. 18, 2024. Ti replaced Jody Roberto who served as president for three years. “We appreciate the deep level of involvement and experience that Mike has demonstrated since he joined the board,” Rober- to said. “His growing knowledge of the district and extensive water industry experience make him an important asset as our new President.” “My experience with each of my fellow board members has always been one of admiration and respect for the work they do for the agency and its member agencies,” Ti said. “I look for- ward to continuing that in the role as Board President.”
tan Water District of Southern California, was the keynote speaker at the Oct. 31 event at the Kellogg West Confer-
scams, dealing with old computer software, not leaving work laptops in parked cars where they could be stolen, having a business resumption and continuity plan, and using the free government vulnerability scanning service. The takeaway of her talk, Collins told the crowd, is: have action plans and “do something at your agencies.” “I implore you all to go back and talk about all of this with your manage-
ence Center at Cal Poly Pomona. Collins told a large audience of water leaders and other government officials how the wa - ter and wastewater industries are at risk from cyber security threats, data breaches and cyberattacks, similar to the way the energy and transportation sectors have been attacked. “The landscape is just exploding. It’s unknown when the attacks are going to happen,” Collins said. She played news clips of government officials warning that hackers can
of the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (WQA), is an ap- pointed member of the Water Appeals Board for L.A. County, and served on the Covina Irri- gating Company board. Mar- quez also served two terms as Mayor of Covina and is active in many community groups. Four-year Board Director and past Vice President Mike Ti was unanimously chosen as Board
Carlos Goytia was selected to serve as Vice President and Jeff Hanlon as Secretary/Treasurer. The leadership team ex- pressed a commitment to fos- tering collaboration, enhancing district operations, and address- ing the critical water challenges facing our communities.
come from Russia, China and Iran. “These threat actors are from all over the place, they’re even from our own backyard.” “The threat is that punch they are going to throw. But the vulnerability is you don’t know when that is going to happen,” Collins said. “I ask you all, what is your risk factor and what is your risk tolerance for such a punch? Are you ready to get knocked out? Are you ready to be losing balance a little bit?” Collins discussed the var- ious information and tech- nology systems vulnerable to cyberattacks and hacks:
Mike Ti President (Division II)
Jorge Marquez Director (Division VI)
Carlos Goytia Vice President (Division I)
Jeff Hanlon Secretary/Treasurer (Division III)
Bob Kuhn Director (Division IV)
David De Jesus Director (Division II)
Jody Roberto Director (Division V)
Three Valleys Municipal Water District invited Heather Collins, Present-Elect of the American Water Works Association, to deliver a keynote address during a Leadership Breakfast recognizing “Cybersecurity Awareness Month.”
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