Following a two-day wave of coordinated attacks, at least one municipal water system has been impacted.
According to a report by Bleeping Computer on July 26th and 27th, several water systems in cities across the state of Minnesota, including Braham, Plymouth, South St. Paul and Maple Plain, were hit by cyberattacks. While further investigation is ongoing, U.S. officials haven’t yet definitively attributed the attacks to the Iranian regime, but initial assessments suggest they may have been carried out by the hacker group “CyberAv3ngers“, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
As a result of the attack, city services in Braham, which has a population of approximately 1,700, were disrupted. The report states that the city’s water plant went offline, remote sensor functionality was impaired and the city well was temporarily shut down. However, according to a statement from local officials, public works crew were able to resolve the problems after two hours and were thanked for their swift response to the crisis.
While the full extent of the attacks’ consequences remains unclear, ongoing investigations reveal that the tactics used are similar to those employed by the “CyberAv3ngers” group.
Previously, this group has targeted water and wastewater facilities in the United States; for example in 2023, they targeted the Municipal Water Authority in Pennsylvania.
Furthermore, in February 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned six senior members of the IRGC-CEC for conducting cyber operations. The U.S. government also offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification of members of the group through their “Rewards for Justice” program.
Although there has been no official confirmation of the attackers, current evidence strongly indicates that “CyberAv3ngers” is responsible for the recent developments in Minnesota’s critical infrastructure, and increases the threat of Iranian regime-affiliated cyberattacks on U.S. water systems. Further investigation is underway to determine the precise details.
