CRIME
Federal Officials Warn Utilities And Other Organizations Of Iran-Linked Cyberattacks
Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa
Several federal agencies have issued a cybersecurity advisory after multiple breaches of systems in several U.S. states by Iranian hackers targeting Israeli-made devices.
The joint advisory was issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD).
Officials warned that hackers affiliated with the Iranian Government Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and using the persona CyberAv3ngers are targeting Israeli-made Unitronics Vision Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The PLCs are utilized across several industries, including water, wastewater and energy utilities; food and beverage manufacturing; and healthcare.
Federal officials did not specify exactly how many or which systems were breached by the hacker group, but several utilities have been targeted in recent weeks, including the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania.
According to the federal advisory, the hackers left a defacement image stating: You have been hacked, down with Israel. Every equipment made in Israel is CyberAv3ngers legal target.
Federal officials warned the Israeli-made PLCs may be rebranded and appear as different manufacturers and companies.
All organizations, especially critical infrastructure organizations, were urged to apply the recommended mitigations enumerated in the advisory, including implementing cybersecurity best practices developed by CISA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Mitigations include changing passwords, implementing multifactor authentication, keeping devices up to date, and implementing a firewall or virtual private network (VPN) if remote access is required.
TMX contributed to this article.
