Terrorist threats are accelerating security system development

Andy Hobbis responds to recent news about the vulnerability of UK water networks to terrorist attacks.

Last week Utility Week published a news story alerting water companies to the threat of terrorist attacks on their networks.

As manufacturers of water-system kiosks and enclosures we know all too well the threats that our water supply faces. As a specified framework supplier for many of the country’s water companies we have offered a range of standard and bespoke options since 1977, but over the last few years we have seen a notable rise in the attention that suppliers give to water-system kiosks’ ability to withstand terrorist attacks.

For obvious security reasons we cannot go into the nuts and bolts of what we have created but never-the-less, terrorism is a very real consideration within the industry, and one that’s treated with the utmost priority by the companies that we work with.

In Utility Week‘s recent story, IVL Flow Control director Craig Stanners discusses what can be done to identify a risk to the water supply once it has been infiltrated, however we have seen how water companies are addressing the problem head on at the earliest possible stage by demanding kiosks that will survive the strongest attack testable.

In answer to the strong demand from MCL customers for “security rated” kiosks, we have developed the Securbilt™ range of kiosks and are amongst the first in the UK to supply the water industry glass-reinforced plastics (GRP) kiosks that meet the LPCB LPS1175 – SR3 security rating, including complete GRP single and double door sets.

The industry’s desire to go beyond the requirements of the Security and Emergency Measures Direction has meant that the manufacturing industry has to look to develop kiosks that meet level 4 of that Direction – a much more stringent test that sees kiosks endure an attack from a higher category of tools over a longer period of time than before. While level 3 saw a five minute attack from a variety of tools including chisels, drills and gas torches, level 4 requires kiosks to withstand a ten minute attack with “experienced attempts at forced entry” and a much higher level of tools.  

We are currently striving towards level 4, but we know that in order to survive the higher test we need to think further than we have before and develop highly technical specialist materials.

One option, for example, could be to create a material that looks like glass reinforced plastic but is reinforced with steel.  Similarly, the designs of kiosks must also continue to evolve in order to stand the test. Kiosk bases have already been adapted to eradicate a potential “weak-spot” – the creation of an integral structural floor means that there is no join in the material that could be penetrated in order to gain access to the supply.

Terrorist attacks are a threat but the water companies are already taking measures to protect our supplies. The water industry and its suppliers must continue to innovate and utilise the latest developments in design and technology, it is a continuous journey pushing materials to their limits.  We at MCL are meeting the demand by working with the companies to create kiosks that will survive the most rigorous of tests, and we take the job of meeting the specification very seriously.