How “Def Con Franklin” Is Defending Water Utilities

The region has suffered drought for over 20 years, and is drying, or aridifying, because of climate change. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that human activity is playing a more intense and direct role in that aridification than previously thought. The Bureau announced on August 15 that Arizona, Nevada, as well as Mexico, will have their river allocations cut substantially for the third year in a row based upon the two-year prediction.

Arizona, along with California and Nevada are the three states in the Lower Basin of the River, and they have been negotiating with the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, to try to reach an agreement on how to cut allocations because of the shrinking water supply. Current agreements will expire at the end of next year.

The Upper Basin states say that the Lower Basin has used most of the river’s water, while those in the Upper Basin use three to four million acre-feet less than their apportionment every year. According to the Arizona Republic, Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission, has said that the Upper Basin cannot be expected to cut back from its current uses to make up for climate change. Those in the Lower Basin argue that the water they use is essential for the nation’s agriculture, manufacturing, and families.

The coalition of Arizona cities and CAP say they need to act now because of overallocation and the unwillingness of some to protect the river’s future. Brenda Burman, the director of the CAP, told KJZZ that they will expand their coalition to include farms and other water users. She also said that California, Nevada, and Mexico have stepped up to cut their allocations, and that other water users must be part of the solution.

The study tested two groups of young, healthy adults. For a week, one group had less than 1.5 liters of water a day and the others exceeded 2 liters for women and 2.5 liters for men. They were then put in public speaking situations and also had to do mental arithmetic. While both groups showed increased heart rates and felt nervous, those who were less hydrated had a more pronounced surge of cortisol, even though they did not say they were feeling thirsty. 

The authors write in The Conversation that water is not a cure-all for handling stress, however, it can help a body to be better equipped. The scientists say it could be a good habit to keep a water bottle close by if you have a deadline or a speech coming up.

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Enter “DEF CON Franklin”—a team of white hat hackers stepping up to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in water systems and fight back against black hats, or malicious actors. DEF CON is a conference for technologists, and DEF CON Franklin was announced at last year’s event to provide free cyber volunteers to help protect critical infrastructure, starting with water systems, wastewater facilities, and schools across the country. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, who started the first U.S. Volunteer Fire Department in 1736. Instead of fighting physical flames, the DEF CON hackers will move to extinguish cyber fires.

The good-guy volunteers offer hands-on support for operational technology (OT) mapping, password protocols, and vulnerability assessments. It’s cybersecurity as a public service—no mandates, no red tape. In its initial phase, hackers were paired with small water utilities across four states—Utah, Vermont, Indiana, and Oregon.

Now, they are scaling up their efforts in partnership with the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) to help small operators with meager budgets, outdated technology, and no dedicated cybersecurity personnel. Helping these utilities is important to national security because they often supply military installations.

Harkening back to Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard's Almanack,” which provided practical information to the public, particularly farmers, in colonial America, DEF CON created the Hackers’ Almanack—a report that summarizes disclosed vulnerabilities and suggests interventions that lawmakers and policy experts can deploy to harden infrastructure.

That’s the idea behind “garbage cafes,” a growing phenomenon in India. The Municipal Corporation of Bhopal in central India launched two so-called “Kachra Cafes,” where residents can drop off plastic, paper, or even e-waste, and in exchange, get hot meals, groceries, or even cash. The waste, which can range from a cellphone or old fridge to milk cartons or clothes, gets weighed and then the customer is given “Kachra Currency” on their mobile phone, which then can be used to buy anything from the store.

Inaugurated by Mayor Malti Rai on August 13, 2025, the cafe is operated by women's self-help groups who produce eco-friendly items sold at the shops. The idea is to reframe waste as having value. The Kachra Cafes in Bhopal were inspired by a garbage cafe in Ambikapur to the east in central India. It was launched in 2019 to help feed the hungry and homeless who often gather plastic and other rubbish for money. According to the BBC, that cafe has collected almost 23 tonnes of plastic since it started, reducing the amount of plastic going to the landfill from 5.4 tonnes per year in 2019 to two tonnes per year in 2024. 

With a slogan “more the waste, better the taste,” the garbage cafes are one way to take a bite out of the plastic pollution problem.