Water Treatment System
CISA warns of cyberattacks disrupting U.S. water utilities
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning of a significant increase in attacks targeting internet-exposed programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the water and wastewater systems sector. The agency’s urgent alert comes after hackers disrupted more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota in attacks that started last Sunday and continued through Monday. CISA’s alert […]
Hackers disrupt over 30 Minnesota water utilities in coordinated OT attack
The Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) agency activated its cybersecurity incident response capabilities across the entire state after hackers targeted more than 30 community water systems in “a coordinated cyberattack.” The attacks occurred on Sunday and Monday, July 26 and 27, and targeted operational technology (OT) systems at local water utilities. In a statement early Monday, […]
ZionSiphon malware designed to sabotage water treatment systems
A new malware called ZionSiphon, specifically designed for operational technology, is targeting water treatment and desalination environments to sabotage their operations. The threat can adjust hydraulic pressures and raise chlorine levels to dangerous levels, researchers found during their analysis. Based on its IP targeting and political messages embedded in its strings, ZionSiphon appears to focus […]
Canada says hacktivists breached water and energy facilities
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security warned today that hacktivists have breached critical infrastructure systems multiple times across the country, allowing them to modify industrial controls that could have led to dangerous conditions. The authorities issued the warning to raise awareness of the elevated malicious activity targeting internet-exposed Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and the need […]
CISA warns water facilities to secure HMI systems exposed online
CISA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned water facilities today to secure Internet-exposed Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) from cyberattacks. HMIs are dashboards or user interfaces that help human operators connect to, monitor, and control industrial machines and devices via tablets, portable computers, or built-in displays. “In the absence of cybersecurity controls, threat actors can […]
American Water shuts down online services after cyberattack
American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, was forced to shut down some of its systems after a Thursday cyberattack. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), American Water said it has already hired third-party cybersecurity experts to help contain and assess the incident’s impact. It […]