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... "Water is the only sector where we've seen three different countries attack water facilities in the United States," explained Neuberger.
The Russia and Iran-linked intrusions were attributed to hacktivists, as opposed to state-sponsored crews. Some threat intel teams have suggested the Russian military's notorious Sandworm group was behind cyberattacks on US and European water plants that, in at least one case, caused a tank to overflow.
Meanwhile, the feds have repeatedly blamed the Chinese government for the Volt Typhoon activity spotted on critical infrastructure systems -- including water supplies.
And while there's been "no consequential impact" to date from these break-ins, "at some point, somebody's going to land in a place, in critical infrastructure, that's going to matter," former National Security Agency cyber boss Rob Joyce warned during the RSA Conference earlier this year.
Water infrastructure -- just like power plants, electricity substations, manufacturing facilities, and other critical infrastructure -- relies on operational technology (OT) systems and processes, which are notoriously hard to secure.
They aren't updated as frequently as IT systems because they typically need to operate 24/7, and are often distributed across multiple locations, connecting to various networks. This also makes spotting and mitigating security threats more difficult. ...
