Suspected Iranian cyberattack on key US infrastructure probed by security agency
Hackers took advantage of security vulnerabilities to potentially threated municipal water supply
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A US water treatment facility has been breached by hackers exploiting the poor default security measures of Unitronic programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
PLCs were confirmed as the source of the breach by Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), but the agency stated that the hackers had not affected the water within the facility.
The PLCs targeted by the hackers are usually responsible for control and management of critical infrastructure, and could be used maliciously within a water facility to contaminate supplies, turn off the municipal supply of water, or damage the structures within the facility.
Vulnerabilities need plugging
Asimilar attack, attributed to Iranian hackers, took place targeting a water facility in Philadelphia, however CISA did not confirm who was behind the most recent attack.
In astatementfrom CISA regarding the attack, the agency reported, “Cyber threat actors are targeting PLCs associated with WWS facilities, including an identified Unitronics PLC, at a U.S. water facility.”
“In response, the affected municipality’s water authority immediately took the system offline and switched to manual operations—there is no known risk to the municipality’s drinking water or water supply.”
CISA also released guidance for organizations on how to keep Unitronic PLCs secure:
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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.
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