CISA says that cyberattacks on critical US infrastructure targeted 100+ internet-exposed water and wastewater systems in July, largely attacking PLCs (Zack Whittaker/TechCrunch)

In July, cyberattacks targeted over 100 internet-exposed water and wastewater systems in the US. According to CISA, these attacks largely targeted programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which are industrial computers used to control physical processes such as regulating water pumps or valves. The PLCs were often connected directly to cellular modems.

The attacks resulted in password changes, IP reassignments, boil water notices, and manual operations, but no critical operational disruptions have been confirmed. CISA has warned of a "significant increase" in such cyberattacks and has urged organizations to implement mitigations, strengthen their security posture, and remove PLCs from the internet.

The threat actors behind the attacks are suspected to be linked to Iran, with some reports suggesting an Iranian state-sponsored group. The attacks occurred at mostly small, rural utilities in at least a dozen states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia, South Dakota, and New Jersey. CISA has attributed the attacks to a systemic vulnerability across the sector rather than isolated incidents.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Dev.to, TechRadar, Slashdot, The Register — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.