On Friday evening, a wastewater treatment plant in Indiana was targeted by hackers, leading plant managers to send maintenance personnel to investigate the suspicious activity. A Russia-linked hacking group claimed responsibility for the incident, similar to previous attacks on water facilities in Texas earlier this year.
The Tipton Municipal Utilities (TMU), which provides electricity, water, and wastewater treatment for the town of Tipton, remained operational and experienced minimal disruption during the cyberattack. General Manager Jim Ankrum confirmed that while the plant was targeted, it was not compromised.
Federal authorities are currently investigating the incident, with the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency involved in the process. Ankrum emphasized that the plant continued to operate despite the cyberattack.
This incident is part of a series of cyberattacks by Russian-speaking hackers targeting water facilities in small American towns. US officials have been urging water systems to enhance their defenses against cyber threats from both state and criminal actors.
The US cybersecurity firm Mandiant linked the recent attacks to a notorious unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. While the specific perpetrators behind the attacks remain unclear, the hackers appear to have targeted industrial equipment accessible online in some cases.
Despite the sensational video posted by the hackers claiming responsibility for the attack on the Tipton wastewater treatment plant, industrial cybersecurity expert Ron Fabela noted that the actions taken by the threat actors were amateur and would have amounted to a minor annoyance for plant operators.
