What we know about the alleged Iranian hacks on US water utilities

Since the end of last month, several water utilities in the United States have been hit by cyberattacks, causing alarm in the country.

News

For years, water utilities and other critical infrastructure facilities in the power sector, for example, have been targeted by hackers, whether government-backed or individuals. What makes these recent attacks — allegedly carried out by Iran — particularly concerning is how widespread they were, hitting targets in around a dozen states.

The U.S. has more than 150,000 water systems, some of them run by local companies. In theory, that should make it harder for hackers to target several facilities at the same time. But on the flip side, the companies running these systems may not have the resources or cybersecurity expertise needed to protect themselves.

Cybersecurity experts have long believed that Iranian hackers target low-hanging fruit in opportunistic isolated attacks, so this hacking campaign could be a significant escalation.

Details

A lot has happened since news of the initial attacks broke two weeks ago. So we decided it was a good time to recap what we know so far, and what we don’t.

Where have there been attacks?

On July 28, Minnesota authorities announced that water treatment plants in more than 30 communities were hit by coordinated cyberattacks.

Analysis

Two days later, the FBI said water and wastewater utility companies in “at least seven states” reported incidents, and in some cases the attacks “degraded water operations.” Since then, apart from Minnesota, there have been reported hacks against water facilities in Arkansas, Georgia, New Jersey, and Michigan.

Who is behind the attacks?

The short answer is: we don’t know yet, but the No. 1 suspect is the Iranian government.

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