Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.

He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.

On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant.

Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory.  

But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks.  

The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real.

Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water.

And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country.

Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow. 

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This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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