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Saturday, October 12, 2024

Water System Attacks Spark Calls for Cybersecurity Regulation

The Iranian CyberAv3ngers group’s simplistic exploitation of Unitronics PLCs highlights the cybersecurity weaknesses in US water utilities, the need to get devices disconnected from the internet, and renewed interest in regulation.

The US critical infrastructure industry and federal authorities have been coping with a series of threat actor attacks on organizations, particularly water utilities, by a shadowy Iranian threat actor exploiting security holes in internet-connected equipment deployed in industrial control system (ICS) environments.

The substantial worries surrounding these incidents, which were seemingly triggered by the Hamas-Israel war, suggest that these kinds of attacks will continue for the foreseeable future. However, some cybersecurity and industrial control system security experts have doubts that Iran as a nation-state was behind the attacks given their amateurish nature.

However, they all agree that cash-strapped water utilities are sitting ducks for this exploitation and that all organizations can best defend themselves by getting their unprotected devices off the open internet. Some experts hope this recent turn of events will spark renewed interest in water sector regulations that could give water utilities more significant funding to devote to cybersecurity.

Read the rest of the story at CSO, here.

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Homeland Security Todayhttp://www.hstoday.us
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.

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