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Israel Says Hackers Targeted SCADA Systems at Water Facilities

The Israeli government has issued an alert to organizations in the water sector following a series of cyberattacks aimed at water facilities.

The Israeli government has issued an alert to organizations in the water sector following a series of cyberattacks aimed at water facilities.

According to an alert published by Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, the attacks targeted supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems at wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and sewage facilities.

Organizations in the water and energy sectors have been advised to immediately change the passwords of internet-accessible control systems, reduce internet exposure, and ensure that all control system software is up to date.

Learn more about threats to industrial systems at SecurityWeek’s 2020 ICS Cyber Security Conference and SecurityWeek’s Security Summits virtual event series

According to Israeli media reports, the attacks were launched on Friday and Saturday and they targeted facilities across the country.

Representatives of Israel’s Water Authority claimed the attacks did not cause any operational damage. Organizations have been advised to immediately report incidents that result in disruption.

Hackers targeting water utilities, including in the United States, is not unheard of, and experts have issued warnings that internet-exposed industrial control systems (ICS) often leave such facilities at risk of attacks.

 

SCADA system at water facility

Related: Attackers Alter Water Treatment Systems in Utility Hack

Related: Cryptocurrency Mining Malware Hits Monitoring Systems at European Water Utility

Related: Internet-Exposed HMIs Put Energy, Water Facilities at Risk

Related: What the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority Can Teach About Responsible Disclosure

Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

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