- A “coordinated cyberattack” targeted more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota on July 26 and July 27, the state’s information technology agency said in a statement.
Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) stated on July 28 that it activated its incident response capabilities immediately after learning of the attack. MNIT stated that an investigation remains active, and responders continue to “assess affected systems.”
“At this time, they are not aware of any active requests from Minnesota cities to have their residents modify their drinking water usage,” the agency stated.
John Israel, MNIT assistant commissioner and Minnesota chief information security officer, said such attacks require “a coordinated, whole-of-government response.”
“[The agency] is working side by side with our partners to share intelligence, support affected communities, and help utilities restore operations safely while strengthening defenses against future attacks,” he said.
Emily Zimmer, a spokesperson for the agency, told Reuters in an email that while the investigation remains ongoing, “the timing, methods of access, and targeted infrastructure share characteristics with other coordinated cyber incidents our federal partners have observed involving critical infrastructure.”
Zimmer said the agency could not yet discuss formal attribution or specifics of the incidents. She noted that the agency used the term “attack“ to describe the situation ”because investigators identified unauthorized access with malicious intent directed at these systems.”
The FBI said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was in contact with the victims “to resolve the matter.”
In a June 16 article about safeguarding critical water infrastructure, Microsoft stated that while cyberattacks typically “wreak havoc” on digital systems, at a water utility, a network breach “can move quickly into the physical realm.”
“Online systems can give an attacker access to operational technology—physical equip
