New Delhi: The heat of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East has now reached the US water security system. A case of cyber attack on drinking water and wastewater treatment plants of at least seven states of America, including Minnesota, has come to light. This incident has raised serious questions regarding the security of the country. After this burglary, which came to light at the end of July, the FBI has issued a warning and started an investigation, which has created a stir in the entire country. After the incident, cyber security has been tightened in water plants across the country.
30 water systems affected in Minnesota
Nearly 30 municipal water systems in the state of Minnesota alone have been targeted. Apart from this, reports of similar cyber incidents have also been registered from states like Georgia, New Jersey and South Dakota.
Security agencies are busy investigating whether these incidents are a part of the seven states or are separate. Which the FBI had warned about. There are approximately 1.52 lakh public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 wastewater treatment plants in the US.
Hackers adopted new technology
Security experts say that cyber criminals targeted ‘Programmable Logic Controllers’ (PLC) installed in water plants. These devices control the pressure of water and the amount of chemicals added to it. Hackers logged into the controllers by scanning Internet addresses and remote access services, using stolen or default passwords. After this, he strengthened his hold on the system by changing the password. Although there has been no official confirmation of water pollution or deterioration in water quality so far, manual operations have had to be started in many areas as a precautionary measure and people have been advised to boil water and drink it.
Are Iranian hackers involved?
Iranian hackers are suspected to be behind this cyber attack. American intelligence agencies are investigating whether this operation is connected to Tehran. However, President Donald Trump also blamed the negligence of Minnesota’s local administration in this matter and said on Iran’s claims that for the time being, we should wait for the official investigation to be completed. Although no country or organization has been officially blamed yet, cyber security has been tightened at water plants across the country since the incident.