Tag Archive for: cyberattack

American Water Cyberattack Renews Focus On Protecting Critical Infrastructure

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego by Bruce Shipkowski

A cyberattack continues to affect the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, renewing a focus on the importance of protecting critical infrastructure sites.

New Jersey-based American Water paused billing to customers as it announced the cyberattack on Monday. It said it became aware of the unauthorized activity on Thursday and immediately took protective steps, including shutting down certain systems. Water services have been unaffected as protections remained in place Wednesday.

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Water Supplier American Water Works Says Hackers Breached System

/in , /by /BNN Bloombergby Lynn Doan

American Water Works Co. Inc., which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people, said hackers had breached its computer networks and systems.

The New Jersey-based company has disconnected or deactivated some systems in an effort to contain the cyberattack and is investigating the nature and scope of the breach, which was discovered on Oct. 3. The company said in a regulatory filing Monday that it currently doesn’t believe water or wastewater operations have been affected, but noted that it can’t yet predict the full impact of the incident.

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America’s Drinking Water is Facing Attack, with Links Back to China, Russia and Iran

/in , /by /CNBCby Trevor Laurence Jockims

The city of Wichita, Kansas, recently had an experience that’s become all too common — its water system was hacked. The cyberattack, which targeted water metering, billing and payment processing, followed the targeting of water utilities across the U.S. in recent years.

In going after America’s water, hackers aren’t doing anything special. Despite rising fears of AI use in cyber threats, the go-to criminal way into systems remains preying on human foibles, be it via phishing, social engineering, or a system still running on a default password — “old school” cyberattacks, according to Ryan Witt, vice president of cybersecurity firm Proofpoint.

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With Russia Targeting West, U.S. Water Systems On High Alert

/in , , /by /Water Onlineby Peter Chawaga

With a geopolitical crisis playing out thousands of miles away, the drinking water sector in the U.S. has doubled its resolve against potential attacks against their digital systems.

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Cyberattack on Bay Area Water Supply: ‘No Specific Threat to Public Safety’

/in , , /by /https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Cyberattack-on-Bay-Area-water-supply-No-16256688.phpby Nora Mishanec

A hacker accessed the computer system of a Bay Area water treatment plant in January and deleted programs the plant used to treat drinking water, a senior intelligence official confirmed Thursday.

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MWD Among Targets in Large-Scale Cyber-Espionage Hack Blamed on China

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Alan Suderman / Associated Press

A cyber-espionage campaign blamed on China was more sweeping than previously known, with suspected state-backed hackers exploiting a device meant to boost internet security to penetrate the computers of critical U.S. entities.

Among the suspected targets was the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people and operates some of the largest treatment plants in the world.

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Colonial Hack Reveals Major Threats to Water Sector

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Hannah Northey

When hackers penetrated a small water utility in North Carolina three years ago that debilitated its IT systems, operators there refused to “bow” to hackers and fork over ransom money to make the assault stop.

That 2018 cyberattack was part of what experts say is a fast-growing and evolving threat in the water sector and a glaring example of the type of attack — ransomware — that earlier this month shut down the East Coast’s largest fuel supplier, the Colonial pipeline.

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Following Pipeline Cyberattack, Biden Vows To Better Protect Water Systems

/in , , /by /Water Onlineby Peter Chawaga

A dangerous cyberattack on critical U.S. infrastructure this month has underscored the ongoing threat that these kinds of attacks pose to drinking water systems, and the president has taken notice.

The FBI has confirmed that hackers successfully forced the Colonial Pipeline, which provides gasoline and jet fuel to much of the East Coast, to shut down.

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Water Plant Cyberattack Is Wake Up Call, 20 Years in the Making

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Jake Holland and Bobby Magill

A cyberattack on a Florida water treatment plant underscores the need for strong security protections at the municipal level, attorneys and industry professionals say.

A hacker gained access to an Oldsmar, Fla. city computer on Feb. 5 and changed the level of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, local authorities said. It isn’t yet known whether the breach originated from the U.S. or from outside the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with local authorities.

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Hack Exposes Vulnerability of Cash-Strapped US Water Plants

/in , /by /AP Newsby Frank Bajak, Alan Suderman and Tamara Lush

A hacker’s botched attempt to poison the water supply of a small Florida city is raising alarms about just how vulnerable the nation’s water systems may be to attacks by more sophisticated intruders. Treatment plants are typically cash-strapped, and lack the cybersecurity depth of the power grid and nuclear plants.

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