Exclusive-Hack of water sector supplier draws FBI scrutiny as Iran-linked cyber concerns grow

U.S. authorities are investigating a data breach at Micro-Comm, a small Kansas firm that manufactures programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for wastewater processing facilities. The breach, which has not been previously reported, occurred on July 31 when nearly 850,000 company files and 644 gigabytes of data were leaked by a ransomware group claiming responsibility.

The files contained government customer information, employee names, and product details, but did not include sensitive information such as user passwords and credentials.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) stated that the attack was opportunistic and not specifically targeted at Micro-Comm. The company recommended customers change passwords as a precaution. Micro-Comm's co-owner, Jim Cote, confirmed that the breach was not related to the ongoing water system hacks reported in the news and that the company's products are safe.

However, cybersecurity experts warn that the breach highlights the need for securing critical infrastructure vendors from increasing cyberattacks on embedded computer systems.