American water treatment utilities are increasingly being targeted by threat actors. You may recall that on Friday afternoon’s Week in Review podcast, I reported that a hacking group believed to be from Iran called CyberAv3ngers claimed credit for taking control of the internet-connected system of a municipal water authority in Pennsylvania. It is believed this group targeted the utility because of a vulnerability in a programmable logic controller it uses from an Israeli company called Unitronics.
U.S. seeks to appoint manager of water supply in Jackson, Mississippi
The U.S. Justice Department has reached an agreement with the state of Mississippi and the city of Jackson to appoint an interim third-party manager to stabilize the city's drinking water supply after a catastrophic failure over the summer. The Justice Department also a filed a complaint against the city on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the city failed to provide reliable drinking water.