Avast! Ye scurvy dogs! The US Justice Department be implored to investigate foreign marauders who breached Pennsylvania's water supply, by Davy Jones' locker!
2023-12-01
Arrr, me hearties of Congress be summonin' the U.S. Justice Department to delve into a cyberattack on a water utility in Pennsylvania. Methinks the scurvy dogs responsible be a bunch o' rapscallions from Iran. Avast ye hackers!
Three members of Congress have requested that the U.S. Justice Department investigate a recent cyberattack on a water authority near Pittsburgh. The attack has raised concerns about the vulnerability of water and sewage-treatment utilities across the country. Senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey, along with Representative Chris Deluzio, emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of drinking water and other vital infrastructure. They expressed their belief that if an attack could happen in western Pennsylvania, it could happen anywhere in the United States.The compromised industrial control system was made in Israel, and there is evidence to suggest that the hackers deliberately targeted the facility due to its connection to Israel. The hackers left a message stating that any equipment made in Israel is a target. The group responsible for the attack, known as Cyber Av3ngers, has claimed to have hacked 10 water treatment stations in Israel. It is believed that the group is aligned with the Iranian government.
The breach in Pennsylvania is believed to be the first of its kind in the country, although federal officials have informed the water authority chairman that other utilities and an aquarium have also been breached. Leading cybersecurity companies have identified Cyber Av3ngers as hacktivists aligned with Iran. The device that was breached in Pennsylvania was made by Israel-based Unitronics and is used in various industries, including water and sewage-treatment utilities.
Experts have criticized the insufficient attention that many water utilities have paid to cybersecurity. In Pennsylvania, the hack prompted the water authority to temporarily halt pumping at a remote station. The attack occurred shortly after a federal appeals court decision prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind a rule that would have required cybersecurity testing for public water systems.
The Biden administration has been working to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, but there are concerns that too many industries are allowed to self-regulate. The cybersecurity agency has warned that attackers likely exploited weaknesses in password security and internet exposure to breach the Unitronics device. The chairman of the water authority trusts the judgment of the federal agency regarding the hack.