Huffpost | Featuring Bryan Koon
Still, it’s worth keeping the risk in perspective. Bryan Koon, president and CEO of the emergency management consulting firm IEM, cautioned against over-indexing on a single unlikely threat.
“The likelihood of a cyberattack attacking your water supply is really low, and unless there was viable intelligence that was shared with the community, there’s no way to tell when it would occur,’ he said. “So, advising people to stock up on water for an unlikely event with an uncertain outcome isn’t practical. I would instead advise people to have the best emergency kit they can that fits their budget and their family, and adjusted for the natural and manmade hazards where they live.”
Such a kit should include basics like non-perishable food, batteries and flashlights ― and could also have a few gallons of water or more if there’s room to store it, he added.
“Now, this advice could change if we saw an increasing threat or frequency of attacks on water systems, or if people lived in a drought-stricken area or where the water system was prone to failure in the event of natural disasters,” Koon said. “In that case, the messaging would shift toward a greater level of readiness.”