4/ Christian's experience includes penetration testing, securing cloud and industrial control environments, and supporting risk-management and vulnerability-assessment efforts.
3/ Bio: Christian is President of DC256, the largest DEF CON group in Alabama. He is also Co-Ambassador of Huntsville Hack The Box, the only Hack The Box community meetup in the state focused on hands-on hacking and defense training.
2/ Christian shares why the DEF CON Franklin community means so much: "Being part of a community where water utility staff and hackers collaborate makes volunteering especially meaningful."
2/ Even the smallest towns in America are targets for adversaries. As founder Jake Braun says, "We talk to folks, and they're like wait, why would anybody want to hack us?... I think (with) all the news about water utilities being hacked, they're coming around pretty quick.”
Cybersecurity isn’t just a big-city problem. Small and rural water systems are under threat of attack, and programs like Franklin and the #CyberResilienceCorps are helping towns like Cavendish, VT. #CyberCivilDefense#Take9
7/ “Like Franklin’s fire brigades saved cities from burning, we can stop cyberattacks before they poison our water.” — Jake Braun 👉 Learn more / get involved: defconfranklin.com #CyberResilienceCorps#CyberCivilDefense#Take9#DEFCONFranklin
6/ Jake’s ask to water system operators at #WaterPro: • Sign up with your water system • Tell a neighboring utility • Share your biggest cyber pain points • Help spread the word so Congress & funders move now
5/ Franklin is already active in IN, OR, UT, VT with solid reviews - and we’re expanding to even more states and utilities with our new nationwide model for water cybersecurity:
4/ Think Ben Franklin’s first volunteer fire brigades, but for water cybersecurity: trained volunteers matched with utilities, focused on practical basics first (MFA, backups, passwords), then scaling up.
3/ Enter @projectfranklin.bsky.social : a partnership between NRWA, University of Chicago Harris Cyber Policy Initiative, and @defcon.bsky.social to boost cyber resilience at water utilities for free.
2/ Most small & rural systems don’t have full-time cybersecurity staff. Waiting for funding and hiring to catch up could take years. Communities need protection now.
1/ 💧 At the #WaterPro25 Conference, DEF CON Franklin founder Jake Braun laid it out plainly: America’s 50,000 water systems keep families safe—but hackers, ransomware gangs, and even foreign adversaries are targeting them.
“I’m the only door between the Iranians and our water system.”
Powerful reporting by @npr.org@jennamclaughlin.bsky.social on how Franklin - and volunteer Tim Pappa - are stepping in to help water operators defend against foreign cyber threats. #CyberCivilDefense#Take9
City systems in St. Paul went down after a cyberattack & recovery took days. For small water utilities, the risks are even higher. Don’t let this happen to you. The Cyber Resilience Corps & DEF CON Franklin can help keep your taps safe. #Take9 www.govtech.com/security/st-...
You can’t secure what you can’t see. CISA's new OT guide is a great place for water systems to start. 👉 Contact DEF CON Franklin now to get free cyber assistance for your water system. #CyberCivilDefense#CyberResilienceCorps#Take9 www.cisa.gov/resources-to...
👇Please check out this great blog post about DEF CON Franklin and Cyber Resilience Corps on NetZeroDay! Thank you to @camille.stewart.gloster for featuring us in this important message about water cybersecurity. Every tap matters. #CyberCivilDefense#Take9
1) Small water systems serve millions—but get zero support in the EPA’s new $9M cybersecurity grant, targeted only at systems serving over 10,000 people
