The US federal government is alerting state governors of disruptive assaults by foreign hackers that are aimed against the country’s sewage and water systems
The State governors are receiving warnings from the federal government of the United States about disruptive cyberattacks by foreign hackers targeting the nation’s water and sewage systems.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan issued a warning in a letter on Tuesday, opening a new tab, stating that “disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States.”
The letter specifically mentioned Chinese and Iranian cyberspies. Sullivan and Regan referenced a recent incident in which hackers at a Pennsylvania water facility, suspected of working in tandem with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, disabled a controller. A Chinese hacking gang known as “Volt Typhoon” was also denounced by them for allegedly having “compromised the information technology of multiple critical infrastructure systems, including drinking water, in the United States and its territories.”
The letter stated that these attacks could seriously impair the vital supply of clean, safe drinking water and cause severe financial hardship for the impacted areas.
A message for comment was not immediately answered by Iran’s UN government mission or China’s Embassy in Washington. Both nation’s governments have previously denied engaging in cyberattacks.
Because water and sewage plants provide a vital function and are frequently weakly secured, cybersecurity experts have long been concerned about the digital safety of these facilities. The hacking incident at the booster facility in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, last year garnered significant attention due in part to the replacement of the compromised controller with a notice stating, “YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED.”
Though no water system damage was recorded, the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an industry body, stated in a statement that was made available at the time that “this may not be an isolated incident.”
The governors were urged by the government in the letter dated Tuesday to make arrangements for any cyber incidents and to “ensure that all water systems in your state comprehensively assess their current cybersecurity practices”.
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