A hack that caused a small Texas town’s water system to overflow in January has been linked to a shadowy Russian hacktivist group, the latest case of a US public utility becoming a target of foreign cyberattacks. The attack was one of three on small towns in the rural Texas Panhandle. Local officials said the public was not put in any danger and the attempts were reported to federal authorities. “There were 37,000 attempts in four days to log into our firewall,” said Mike Cypert, City Manager
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Chinese-linked hackers have snooped around critical US infrastructure and have put themselves in a position to attack at “the right moment,” FBI director Christopher Wray ominously warned. Speaking at the 2024 Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Wray underscored that the bureau and other federal authorities have been scrambling behind the scenes to counter the threat, which he said is “upon us now.” “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has made it clear that it consider
Several US federal agencies published a guide of cybersecurity best practices for the water and sanitation sector following criticism from a US government watchdog about the government’s work with the industry. This past week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnered with the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to release a manual providing the water industry with more information on cyber incident response as well as the roles, resources and responsibi
There’s an old saying in the American West: “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting.” Back in March, Red Sky Alliance presented facts surrounding the Oldsmar, Florida water treatment cyber-attack. Well, this critical infrastructure in the US remains a target to cyber-criminals.
The idea that access to water, especially the clean, drinkable kind, is something that is worth fighting for is nothing new. But cyber security was never a real factor in water safety. Recent incidents have e
You have been asked to be a local celebrity at the summer church fund raiser. This honor involves sitting on a perch in a Dunk Tank. All goes well, until after the first plunge into the cold water, you realize that you forgot to take your phone off your hip. Panic sets in. This is the phone you use for both work and home. Oh no – now what? Plunging into a dunk tank may not be in your near future, but dropping your phone in the toilet, pool or local pond is a distinct reality. Smart phone
