A top White House national security officer has called for utilities and industry to tighten their cybersecurity measurements.
This comes after hacker groups have ramped up their ransomware attacks targeting the US. Most recently, Iranian hackers launched a cyberattack on the US municipal water authorities in the western Pennsylvania town of Aliquippa. The hacks started in November 2022, two months after the beginning
The hacker group, known as Cyber Av3ngers, failed to deal any significant damage to its targets. The minimal effect was due to the group being “unsophisticated.”
Both US and Israeli officials stated that the group had ties to Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist cell based in Iran. In the past, Tehran supported Houthi rebel groups in Yemen while they attacked commercial vessels.
While the hack was ineffective, it temporarily ground pumping in a water station that delivered water between two nearby towns. Workers were forced to switch to more traditional methods to keep the supply flowing.
“Some pretty basic practices would have made a big difference there,” said one of Joe Biden’s top advisors. “We need to be locking our digital doors. There are significant criminal threats, as well as capable countries — but particularly criminal threats — that are costing our economy a lot.”
These attacks took place soon after the EPA had to repeal a decision that would have forced US water systems to include cybersecurity training as part of their regular annual audits.
Cybersecurity attacks around the world continue to ramp up in the face of global geopolitical tensions, causing international government agencies, including the US, to push for enhanced cybersecurity.
The US has already begun implementing its wide-scale cybersecurity plan to protect various critical sectors and industries from attack.
“The president’s made it a priority,” the advisor said. “We’re pushing out actionable information. We’re pushing out advice.”