Yuba Water Agency Cybersecurity Assessment

The Yuba Water Agency owns and operates facilities that reduce flood risk, ensure a sustainable water supply, and provide hydroelectric generation and recreational opportunities for Yuba County, California. The agency’s New Bullards Bar Reservoir, formed by a 64-story-high dam on the North Yuba River in the Tahoe National Forest, replenishes the groundwater aquifer that provides the sole source of water for county residents.

To maintain secure and safe dam operations, Yuba Water regularly conducts evaluations of the facility’s instrumentation and control and related security systems. GFT provided specialized security consulting services to assist in the completion of a cybersecurity assessment report for the agency as required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Our security and safety team conducted a dam site visit to interview key personnel to evaluate SCADA remote operations and perform the Cyber/SCADA consequence determination. As a result, we evaluated the status of physical and cybersecurity baseline security measures to identify areas of concern and possible enhancements.

As part of the assessment, the team reviewed Yuba Water’s existing information security policies and procedures and examined the incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity programs. The final report provided the agency with a suggested plan of action and an implementation schedule. The team’s inspection included a security review of the 5th tallest dam in the U.S.