Democratic senators from Connecticut have penned a letter to the state's utilities companies asking them to better prepare for possible nation-state cyber-attacks.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, of New Haven, Sen. Majority Leader Bob Duff, of Norwalk, and members of the Senate Democratic Caucus wrote the letter to utilities operating in the state.

In the letter, Democratic senators highlighted how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need for heightened vigilance to protect our cyber systems and infrastructure against the increasingly sophisticated form of nation-state sponsored cyber-attacks.

The senators warned about the potential damage of a successful attack which "could place Connecticut residents in life-threatening situations. From the resident who is dependent on electricity for oxygen to live to the dependence all of us have on our water supply, your companies' cyber security preparations are of the utmost importance to our state. We need to do all we can to strengthen our defenses in light of these more powerful and possibly more imminent threats."

The warning was sent to the major utilities in the state including Eversource, United Illuminating Company, ISO New England, Aquarion Water Company, Regional Water Authority, The Connecticut Water Company, Southern Connecticut Gas Company, and Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation. In addition, the letter was sent to local utilities including Bozrah Light and Power, Groton Utilities, Heritage Village Water Company, Norwich Public Utilities, Old Newgate Ridge Water Company, Preston Plains Water Company, South Norwalk Electric and Water, Avon Water Company, Berkshire Gas Company, Hazardville Water Company, Jewett City Water Company, Torrington Water Company, Valley Water Systems, and Wallingford Department of Public Utilities.

Senators write in the letter the state needs to anticipate and prepare for a critical infrastructure cyber-attack.

They also call for emergency management exercises where officials are tasked in handle the unprecedented effects of electricity and natural gas outages lasting more than two weeks, and the concurrent and extremely serious demands created by the inability to provide potable water and processed sewage.

The full text of the letter can be found here.