Iranlinked cyberattacks threaten US water heath care and energy sectors NPR
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Juliana Kim
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This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa Pa on Nov 25
Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP
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ppThis photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa Pa on Nov 25ppAn Iranlinked hacking group is actively targeting and compromising multiple US facilities for using an Israelimade computer system US cybersecurity officials say ppThe Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA said on Friday that the hackers known as CyberAv3ngers have been infiltrating video screens with the message You have been hacked down with Israel Every equipment made in Israel is CyberAv3ngers legal targetppThe cyberattacks have spanned multiple states CISA said While the equipment in question Unitronics Vision Series programmable logic controllers is predominately used in water and wastewater systems companies in energy food and beverage manufacturing and health care are also under threatppThese compromised devices were publicly exposed to the internet with default passwords CISA saidppThe agency did not specify how many organizations have been hacked but on Friday CNN reported that less than 10 water facilities around the US had been affectedppCyberAv3ngers was behind the breach at a water authority outside of Pittsburgh on Nov 25 The Aliquippa water authority was forced to temporarily disable the compromised machine but reassured citizens that the drinking water is safe ppWhile it did not cause any major disruptions to the water supply the incident revealed just how vulnerable the nations critical infrastructure is to cyberattacksppIf a hack like this can happen here in Western Pennsylvania it can happen elsewhere in the United States Sens John Fetterman and Bob Casey and Rep Chris Deluzio who all represent the state wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday The lawmakers urged the Justice Department to conduct a full investigation and hold those responsible accountableppIt also showed the scale and scope of Israel and Hamas cyberwarfare Alongside the fight on the ground both sides of the conflict are armed with dozens of hacking groups that have been responsible for disrupting company operations leaking sensitive information online and collecting user data to plan future attacksppWere now tracking over 150 such groups And since you and I started to correspond it was probably 20 or 30 or 40 So theres more groups and more hacktivist groups are joining Gil Messing the chief of staff at the Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point told NPRppIn response to the cyber concerns Israeli authorities recently gave themselves new emergency wartime powers which allows the government to step in if a company that specifically deals with cloud storage and digital services gets hackedppNPRs Jenna McLaughlin contributed reportingppSponsor MessageppBecome an NPR sponsorp
Juliana Kim
pp
This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa Pa on Nov 25
Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP
hide caption
ppThis photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa Pa on Nov 25ppAn Iranlinked hacking group is actively targeting and compromising multiple US facilities for using an Israelimade computer system US cybersecurity officials say ppThe Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA said on Friday that the hackers known as CyberAv3ngers have been infiltrating video screens with the message You have been hacked down with Israel Every equipment made in Israel is CyberAv3ngers legal targetppThe cyberattacks have spanned multiple states CISA said While the equipment in question Unitronics Vision Series programmable logic controllers is predominately used in water and wastewater systems companies in energy food and beverage manufacturing and health care are also under threatppThese compromised devices were publicly exposed to the internet with default passwords CISA saidppThe agency did not specify how many organizations have been hacked but on Friday CNN reported that less than 10 water facilities around the US had been affectedppCyberAv3ngers was behind the breach at a water authority outside of Pittsburgh on Nov 25 The Aliquippa water authority was forced to temporarily disable the compromised machine but reassured citizens that the drinking water is safe ppWhile it did not cause any major disruptions to the water supply the incident revealed just how vulnerable the nations critical infrastructure is to cyberattacksppIf a hack like this can happen here in Western Pennsylvania it can happen elsewhere in the United States Sens John Fetterman and Bob Casey and Rep Chris Deluzio who all represent the state wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday The lawmakers urged the Justice Department to conduct a full investigation and hold those responsible accountableppIt also showed the scale and scope of Israel and Hamas cyberwarfare Alongside the fight on the ground both sides of the conflict are armed with dozens of hacking groups that have been responsible for disrupting company operations leaking sensitive information online and collecting user data to plan future attacksppWere now tracking over 150 such groups And since you and I started to correspond it was probably 20 or 30 or 40 So theres more groups and more hacktivist groups are joining Gil Messing the chief of staff at the Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point told NPRppIn response to the cyber concerns Israeli authorities recently gave themselves new emergency wartime powers which allows the government to step in if a company that specifically deals with cloud storage and digital services gets hackedppNPRs Jenna McLaughlin contributed reportingppSponsor MessageppBecome an NPR sponsorp
