Amidst the increasing tension in the Middle East, now a big concern is emerging from a completely new front regarding America's security. This time the target is not conventional missiles, but America's basic need i.e. its water system. Reports of coordinated cyber attacks on drinking water and water treatment plants of at least seven US states, including Minnesota, have given the US administration sleepless nights. Let us know what is the truth behind this dangerous cyber attack and why Iran's name is being raised in it. Coordinated cyber attack on water plants of several American states: Amidst the ongoing tension between America and Iran, news of cyber attacks on American water plants has spread rapidly. The state of Minnesota has officially confirmed that at least 30 municipal water systems there have been victims of these coordinated cyber attacks. Following this shocking report that surfaced in late July, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a stern warning saying that malicious cyber actors have tried to break into drinking water and wastewater systems in at least seven different states of the US. After this report came out, similar cyber incidents have started being reported from states like Georgia, New Jersey and South Dakota. However, it is not yet officially clear whether all these incidents are part of the attacks in the seven states identified by the FBI or not. In the initial discussions, hackers associated with Iran were suspected to be responsible for these attacks, but the US administration has not yet held any country or organization formally responsible for this. How the American water system works and how the burglary game is taking place According to government data, there are approximately 1,52,000 public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 waste water treatment facilities across the US. Typically these municipalities take water from lakes, rivers or groundwater sources and deliver it using electric pumps to a treatment plant, where the water is filtered and disinfected and distributed through storage tanks to homes and businesses. But now cyber criminals are breaking into this entire process. According to cyber experts, attackers are mainly targeting Internet-facing Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). These are the same digital devices that control and monitor highly sensitive industrial processes like water flow, pressure and chemical dosing. William Akoto, Global Security Assistant Professor at American University, says that these hackers scan the Internet addresses of external companies and controllers to gain remote access. After this, they login into the system using the default or stolen password, change the password or try to misuse the entire system by issuing direct commands. Is Iran really behind these dangerous attacks? According to a report by CBS News, US investigative agencies are deeply investigating whether these cyber attacks are really linked to Iranian hackers. Recently, during a cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump had accused Minnesota officials of adopting an irresponsible attitude and said that it was due to such carelessness that hackers got the opportunity. However, he also commented that Iran had too many problems of its own at the moment to worry about Minnesota. It is a matter of relief that till now there has been no official report of water pollution or deterioration in the quality of water in any water system due to these attacks. Despite this, manual intervention has been required at many places as a safety precaution and citizens in many areas have been advised to boil water and drink it. At present, American agencies are working on alert mode to deal with this entire high-tech threat.
