The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency warn water utilities nationwide of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.
The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency issued a public warning to all critical infrastructure operators that hackers are targeting vulnerable internet-connected control systems responsible for delivering drinking water. The administration announced that water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states have reported cyber incidents, including New Jersey, Georgia, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In Minnesota, hackers targeted more than 30 municipal water facilities, an event that some analysts tentatively attribute to Iran. However, President Trump criticized the state's leadership for the response, calling the state's leaders grossly incompetent. While some officials suggested the attacks were caused by Iranian meddling, the administration has not officially linked the attacks to a specific culprit. The federal advisory urges water utilities to secure their programmable logic controllers by removing them from direct internet exposure and using stronger passwords. Despite the and various reports of system pressure drops and alarms, officials in New Jersey and Georgia confirmed that drinking water quality was not compromised during the incidents.