🚨 Hackers hit water systems in at least 12 US states. The prime suspect is Iran.
Minnesota: about 30 water systems attacked.
Michigan: 9 confirmed incidents.
New Jersey: 2 town water systems went blind. Staff had to run them by hand.
Georgia: a county water authority put out a boil-water advisory after hackers targeted it.
The trick is simple. Get in through the internet. Change the passwords. Switch the alarms OFF. The people running your tap water can no longer see what the machines are doing.
The FBI told utilities to unplug from the internet where they can and get ready to work the controls by hand.
Now look at France.
One night in October, hackers took over the fridges in 700 stores. Same trick: in through the web, safety alerts OFF. Around 20 fires.
Yesterday France named who did it: a cyber unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
The head of the security firm Dragos says that in the last year his team worked "numerous" cases where Iranian hackers did "very similar things to water utilities."
A warm fridge spoils food.
A blind water plant is a different story.
It's starting.
When the next water system reports a hack, I'll post it here first. Follow so the warning reaches you before your tap does.
BREAKING: Yemen’s Houthis have struck the heart of Riyadh’s financial district, directly hitting a Saudi Aramco tower after the kingdom’s air defenses attempted to intercept a barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles over the capital, per Reuters, AFP and the Saudi Energy Ministry.
Multiple witnesses confirmed that the Aramco tower was hit, shattering windows and damaging multiple floors. The Saudi Energy Ministry said an administrative building belonging to Aramco had been targeted.
The latest attack follows the Houthis’ claim of six operations on Saturday targeting Saudi airports and energy infrastructure, including Aramco’s Khurais facilities, East-West pipeline Pumping Station No. 8 and the 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery.
BREAKING:
BBC has developed a secret emergency broadcasting plan to keep the UK informed if a major blackout or cyberattack shuts down electricity, internet and communication networks.
Around 100 BBC staff will operate a special emergency radio studio with independent power, food, water and fuel supplies to keep broadcasts running for at least three days.
The plan relies on FM radio, which can continue operating even when internet and mobile networks go down.
The UK is also preparing for a potential nationwide crisis, with officials urging the country to be ready to withstand a major disruption for at least 72 hours.