PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Iranian hackers could be behind cyberattacks on two water systems in New Jersey.
The state’s cybersecurity chief said the attacks temporarily limited the utilities’ ability to monitor their systems. In both cases, staff switched to manual operations; fortunately, there was no disruption of service.
The two affected utilities have not been identified; officials also have not confirmed Iran’s involvement.
The feds are investigating the attacks on utilities in New Jersey and across the country. According to ABC News, at least a dozen states are dealing with cyber intrusions targeting water and wastewater utilities, most notably in Michigan and Minnesota. That number is up from last week, when the FBI said at least seven states had been hit.
Rob D’Ovidio, a professor specializing in cybercrime at Drexel University, said these attacks are exposing vulnerabilities in American water systems.
“The weak link here is this public internet-facing access to control systems,” he said. “There’s no reason why we should allow foreign IP address ranges to be able to even access these systems.”
The FBI is urging utilities to disconnect from the internet wherever possible and become familiar with operating manually in case automated systems are compromised.
D’Ovidio believes American utilities must update the systems currently in place.
“I can’t emphasize enough the need to modernize our infrastructure,” he said. “We need to trash the equipment that is older, that’s not receiving updates anymore, that isn’t updateable anymore.
“We need to enforce strong, unique credentials. We need to segment these networks and restrict access.”
The FBI said if a water system is tampered with, it could create flooding or pressure loss, which could cause untreated groundwater to seep into pipes.
Iranian hackers may be behind the attacks
Iranian hackers may be behind the attacks
