Iranian Hackers Take Credit for Cyber Attack

A human can go weeks without food. Water? Two or three days. That makes water maybe the one most important half of any metropolis’s or city’s infrastructure. On Sunday, we realized of a new attempt to exploit what could also be some vulnerabilities in some water systems in California. An Iranian hacker group has claimed to have gained access to some of those key California water systems, but there’s just one downside: They do not appear to have been ready to get into any precise control systems, which could enable them to shut down or at least impede water manufacturing. At least, not yet.

An Iranian hacker group is claiming it infiltrated water systems serving a number of California cities in an obvious act of retaliation against the United States — though cybersecurity consultants are casting doubt on whether or not the hackers can truly do any injury.

The group, recognized as Handala, alleged Thursday that it breached systems tied to Bakersfield, Visalia and Chico, posting screenshots that appeared to show residents’ water payments. The hackers said the cyberattack was payback after US forces struck two reservoirs in Iran.

Here’s the attention-grabbing bit:

California Water Service said it discovered no evidence that its systems have been compromised.

“We have conducted a preliminary scan of our internal IT and OT networks and have no signs of any compromise within our IT, water production, and delivery systems at this time,” a spokesperson for CalWater told news web site SJV Water.

An investigation is still underway, the spokesperson said.

The hacker group, in their assertion, did be aware that they’ve gained control of some of the water systems, but had not as yet made any attempt to shut down the systems or do any other injury.

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Local authorities and the local media are, it appears, equally skeptical about precise injury finished to the control systems, although it does look as though there was some breach. SJV Water, a news web site that covers water points in the San Joaquin Valley space, had this to say:

A review by cyber consultants, utilizing Dataminr, an AI software, exhibits “…that the group reached a GPS correction server and a customer billing database. Neither system controls water treatment or distribution, and Dataminr states that OT or ICS disruption is not confirmed in this incident,” according to an article on the web site Security.

It’s a troubling story nonetheless. Our major metropolitan areas, from coast to coast, are dependent on water systems, not just for consuming water but for cooking, cleansing, and a host of other makes use of. The quickest method to deliver a major metropolis to its knees can be to shut off the water; a particular person can go days or weeks without food, but only a matter of 24 to 36 hours without water – less, if the climate is sizzling and dry, as it often is in locations just like the San Joaquin Valley.

Criminal hackers, be they working for another authorities or just independents trying to make hassle, are a major risk. In this occasion, the hackers, be they Handala (or any Iranian group) or not, did handle to gain access to half of the Bakersfield, Visalia, and Chico systems; if they will do that, who’s to say they could not also gain access to control systems?

Suddenly being on a family effectively appears amazingly comforting.

Editor’s Note: For a long time, former presidents have been all speak and no motion. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the risk from Iran once and for all. 

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