Officials scrutinize suspected Iranian hacks on US water systems

Water utilities in roughly a dozen states have been hit by cyberattacks since late July, prompting the FBI and state officials to investigate a suspected campaign tied to Iran. Minnesota authorities said treatment plants in more than 30 communities were struck on July 28, and the FBI later said utilities in at least seven states reported incidents, with some attacks degrading water operations. Additional incidents have since been reported in Arkansas, Georgia, New Jersey and Michigan.

The federal government has not officially named a culprit, though the nonprofit Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center told members the attacks aligned with an Iranian hacking campaign the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency had warned about. The Washington Post has reported that U.S. intelligence agencies are confident Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is responsible, though the specific unit involved remains unclear. President Donald Trump said he did not believe an Iranian cyberattack occurred and instead blamed Minnesota, which is led by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

The FBI said some attacks caused a loss of water pressure that could allow untreated groundwater into pipes, and led to flooding in some cases. The Minnesota town of Braham took its water plant offline for several hours and asked its roughly 1,700 residents to conserve water, while Maple Plain, Minnesota, briefly declared a state of emergency. A county outside Atlanta, Georgia, temporarily told residents to boil water as a precaution.

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