Keynote Address by
Prof. Emre TOKGÖZ, Department of Computer Security at State University of New York’s Farmingdale campus in New York.

Delivered on March 21, 2026.
#WorldWaterDay2026 | #WaterDay | #Cybersecurity | #GenderEquality | #SDG5 | #SDG6

CONCEPT: Water management systems’ cybersecurity infrastructure development is a critical need of any country in today’s world to ensure cyber-safe digital infrastructure. In this talk, critical aspects of this need including the roles of humans, digital devices, design and development of water management systems, cybersecurity tools and software, and AI will be covered. The fundamental needs for establishing a cyber-threat resilient and sustainable water management system using cyber-systematic development will be covered. In alignment with the U.N Water Day and the need for driving changes in water as engineers, scientists, sanitation workers and community leaders (https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day), there is a need for women empowering the cybersecurity needs and concerns in the field of cybersecurity of water systems and securing critical water systems’ digital infrastructures. In association with the six themes of the 2026 UN Water Conference ( in the United Arab Emirates on 2-4 December 2026), while cybersecurity of water relates to all themes, Water for Prosperity and Water in Multilateral Processes themes are the most relevant ones in alignment with the presentation’s purpose.

#WWD2026 Critical Cybersecurity Investment Needs in Water for Prosperity with Women Involvement

[LMGlobal.Org] Hello and welcome to this presentation on critical cybersecurity investment needs in water for prosperity with women involvement. This is a part of the session talk related to World Water Day of 2026, along with in support of the 2026 UN Water Conference.
 Cyber security, water and gender equity. As a part of this, the focus is water and gender, with the campaign dedication theme being where water flows, equality grows.

And my name is Emre Tokgoz. I’m a professor at the Department of Computer Security at State University of New York’s Farmingdale campus in New York.
 To give you an overview of this presentation, I’ll be covering what do we need to know in relation to cyber security and water. How are they related? This is one of the important concepts that we should cover first and then how do we relate it to sustainable development goal 6.

Why do we need to Integrate cybersecurity into systems that relate to water security? That’s another one that we’ll cover. And what follows would be the key thematic debates of the United Nations, including water for prosperity and water in multilateral processes. Afterwards I’ll go over why women’s involvement is necessary in this field of interest.


So how do we relate cybersecurity water? That’s the first question that we need to answer.

It is with certainty that we have water-based systems that are utilizing cybersecurity.
Distribution of water is essential to secure, and cybersecurity relates to how we distribute, clean and process water overall.


– Click on the above image for the full Power Point presentation.

There are digital devices with security that are also very important, and there’s a lot of different aspects of these digital devices with different threats and vulnerabilities. These devices used include but not limits to cell phones, computers, networks, and many others… Concepts such as operating system updates, vulnerability identifications, and monitoring threats are essential in applications.


There’s a lot of devices that are being used out there and their cyber security considerations are again critical for success in how we distribute and process water securely. Sustainability of such security is a necessity.
Physical security is another aspect of cyber security because there’s the social engineering concept that exists and social engineering is a factor when it comes to securing these systems.


There’s definitely a need for establishing highly secure water-based digital systems because as we know from recent cybersecurity events that we see all over the news, there’s a big need for securing systems as these systems are becoming more and more complex.
Consequences could be high when it comes to digital infrastructures taken over by a hacker.


What are other important factors all along for structuring the employee mindset and their training? Such initiatives need to start early in the process, and it requires training of the employees to change their mindsets and their preparation to systems’ handling.
For a cyber resilient system, that’s important. There are certain digital security needs that need to be established, and examples of the United Nations related funding exists in this field of interest.


One such example is from North Macedonia: As you can see, cybersecurity and water services management and there’s funding that is obtained for this type of application. And if you’re curious, I strongly recommend visiting this website that I’m
Showing.

Relating Cybersecurity to Water
One of the recent events that linked water and cybersecurity occurred in Fiji.
During 2024–2025, Fiji started enhancing its cybersecurity for securing critical infrastructures, including water management, as digital transformation introduces vulnerabilities to ransomware and state-sponsored attacks. Projects involving IoT and digital systems face rising cyber threats, with new national strategies (2025–2030) and partnerships aiming to protect, especially in remote areas. #Slide2

Key Aspects of 2024–2025 Cyber-Water Security in Fiji included
• Critical Infrastructure Risk: The Fiji CyberSec Government Workshop (2025) highlighted that as water systems adopt digital technology (IoT/automated monitoring), they become targets for ransomware, phishing, and external attacks, mirroring risks to national security.

• National Strategy & Protection: The National Cyber Security and Resilience Strategy 2025–2030 is focusing on securing critical sectors against threats that could disrupt water supply, especially with increased online government services and digital payments.

• Regional Collaboration: Japan (via JICA) is assisting with a technical cooperation project (June 2025) specifically targeting the improvement of cybersecurity capabilities for Critical Information Infrastructure operators in Fiji.

• Infrastructure Rollout vs. Security: While 1,700 new boreholes are expected in 2024–2025, the integration of digital, remote monitoring into these or existing water systems requires robust, secure, and resilient frameworks to prevent unauthorized access and protect against disruptions
Slide: Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

We can easily link the Sustainable Development Goals-6 to 2026 Water Conference’s thematic themes!

• Target 6.a is International Cooperation & Capacity-Building: This target focuses on expanding support to developing countries in water-related activities and programs. In 2026, “capacity-building” increasingly includes cyber-resilience training for water managers to protect smart grids and automated desalination plants from digital threats.

• Target 6.5 is Integrated Water Resources Management: This target calls for water management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation. Modern Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) relies on data sharing and satellite monitoring. Cybersecurity is the “shield” that ensures this shared data is accurate and not tampered with, which is vital for preventing regional water conflicts.

• Target 6.b is Local Engagement: Protecting the digital platforms used by local communities to manage their own water resources is essential for ensuring that women and marginalized groups can participate safely without the risk of data exploitation or harassment.



There are key connections between SDG 6 and cybersecurity that include but not limit to
• Protection of Critical Infrastructure: Modern water management relies on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and IoT devices to manage water resources. Cyberattacks on these systems can cause disruption, contamination, and threaten public health.

• Data Integrity and Quality Monitoring: Cybersecurity ensures the security of digital data used to monitor water quality and manage water distribution efficiently.

• Enabling Digital Solutions: Digital technologies are necessary to achieve SDG 6, making robust cybersecurity a prerequisite for the secure and sustainable deployment of these solutions.

• Operational Safety: Cybersecurity ensures that smart water and sanitation systems are resilient against threats

There are also clear challenges that relate cybersecurity and SDG 6:
• Vulnerability of Digital Systems: As water management becomes more reliant on digital technology, vulnerabilities in, for example, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) equipment can turn automation into a significant health threat.

• Operational Limitations: Developing countries may face limitations in connectivity and infrastructure, making it crucial to implement context-appropriate,, and secure digital tools.

• Need for International Standards: International standards, including those from UN entities, can help set requirements for water sensing and early warning systems to strengthen cybersecurity.


As you can see on the right-hand side, there are many factors and these are not the only factors that exist in cyber security applications in different settings. There’s computer security, mobile security, there are firewalls.

For antivirus applications, there’s data protection, which is very important. Again, online privacy, secure payments need to be established. Therefore you want to have a resilient system when it comes to these as well.

So all along, we know that cyber threats are increasing all over the world, and government organizations that are involved in water-related distribution systems need to be secured, which is very, very important because you want to make sure that the government has the security and safety mechanisms against digital attacks. 

At the same time, there are private organizations that are involved with the different infrastructures from government organizations, and that part is also very important to secure, as you can imagine.

It takes time to change organizational cultures. We all know that it starts with training, but it is not only about theoretical and educational training, it is also necessary to develop hands-on and practical applications and training within the workplaces, and every workplace has a different dynamic and infrastructure that requires cyber security techniques’ adoptions.

As a part of the security establishments, the number one role belongs to humans, as you can imagine, password selection, the appropriate work to be done with the corresponding devices, and some others. And how do you make sure that the right policies and regulations are established?


These are all important aspects of the work that need to be completed. The corresponding digital devices used and what type of policies exist in place. For example, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, well known as NIST organization, has guidelines for establishing strong password protection by using certain number of characters while choosing passwords. So, how does it work with the decisions that need to be made? 

For the management systems that are developed for water. How do you design and develop them and how do you make sure that their security is established based on the cyber security tools that can be used with them? Again, government organizations will be different from private ones when it comes to such considerations.


There are specialized tools and software that are used out there for cybersecurity practices, therefore they can be utilized all along. And AI is well known as one of the most recent advancements in this field of applications. A simple example of this is intrusion detection systems that detect intrusions to systems that can be designed by using AI applications and there are packages that are already developed out there.

Moving on to the key thematic debates of the United Nations for Water Day, and the first one that relates to cyber security and water is water for prosperity.
With that, it impacts economic stability of the country big time. Not only the country itself, actually global wise, it is impacting the entire economy, operational technology, security of the systems that manage water distribution and treatments.

With the human machine interface involvement in this, there are supervisory control mechanisms that again are driven by digital systems and there’s the data acquisition, data storage, access to data. These are again very critical aspects.

Specs of how it works with this consideration, this debate. Resilience planning is essential when it comes to these systems, and we utilize cyber risk management into the general utility management that includes incident response plans.

Asset inventories and employee training. For instance, well-known organizations such as Google have playbooks. They established or pre-developed and continuously updated their cybersecurity policies, regulations, threat response mechanisms, and outline of the associated risks in place.

And establishing these are very important. On the right hand side you can see the website unwoman.org and one part that I want to cite here is that
 “Collaboration and partnerships across institutions on gender equality, robust monitoring and education initiatives are shown to be critical for achieving transformative and inclusive water governance, and cybersecurity is critical to the success.”

The second key thematic debate is water in multilateral processes. On the right-hand side, you can see all different subsystems that take place in the public water system.
Including, for instance, drinking water treatment plant and associated digital infrastructure. Same goes for storage tanks, distribution pipes, sewage collection systems and reservoirs and some other places.

And the connection between these subsystems also have some sort of digital infrastructure that also incorporates cybersecurity considerations. Therefore, all these systems are integrated and their security relies on physical and digital parts of it that both relate to, again, cybersecurity.

These multiple systems that are included in water processing all require proper management individually, but at the same time they also require a management of collective integrated system in place with the associated cybersecurity management.
 There has to be some sort of regularity, compliance and enforcement associated with taking care of these systems and they are at the central to the decisions made.
 And all along policy developments, especially when it comes to corporate based systems in place, right? Cyber security has lots of policies. Internet is driven by policies: A simple example to this is the IP address that you all may well know where IP stands for Internet Protocol, so that’s a protocol by itself. Therefore, developing these policies, determining risks, and following and knowing about protocols are necessary when it comes to securing these systems in place in governments and private organizations.

 So why do we need women’s involvement in this field especially? I want to highlight on the right-hand side that many people think cybersecurity is actually driven by coding or software, but it’s not necessarily only coding. Yes, a part of it is coding but majority of it is developing systems’ security by following proper procedures, determining risks, acting on securing systems, and training of others for furthermore development.
In the movies we see these hackers that are trying to hack into the systems and in social media you may see things similar to that, but the reality is definitely different in systems’ security. As I mentioned, yes, a part of it is related to coding but the majority of cybersecurity is not necessarily coding.

The first and foremost important aspect here is that the cybersecurity field has predominantly male staff, and that’s one of the reasons that woman involvement is needed, because diversity is the key for success.

While male involvement is good, the organizational infrastructure improvement can benefit from women involvement, especially when it comes to managing the systems and designing policies and regulations along with determining risks because these are necessary for success in this field of interest. There is a major need of cybersecurity professionals in the field and involvement of women can close this gap.


As I pointed out, diversity and diversified thinking enriches the culture and that’s one of the reasons that also women should be involved because when it comes to establishing the workforce, we need to have diversified thinkers all along and we need to make sure that women involvement and open minded discussions are there for working out the details and securing these systems in place. Especially in the field of cybersecurity, women’s involvement would bring in different perspectives and insights into this field of interest.

Power Point

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