Anti-Israel hackers breached Pennsylvania water authority

Anti-Israel hackers recently breached a Pennsylvania water authority, prompting a temporary halt in pumping that impacted the water pressure for some nearby residents, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was hacked by a group who call themselves the "Cyber Av3ngers." The "hacktivists" have been linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Cyberscoop. The outlet noted that the group has "a history of making exaggerated and false claims about their hacking exploits."

The hackers claimed to have attacked the remote water authority because some of the facility's equipment is linked to Israel. The group left an electronic calling card on a device at the facility that stated, "You have been hacked."

"Down with Israel," the calling card continued. "Every equipment 'made in Israel' is Cyber Av3ngers legal target."

The device, made by Israel-based Unitronics, is a programmable logic controller that regulates pressure, temperature, and fluid flow in many industries, including water and sewage treatment facilities and electric, oil, and gas companies.

Due to the attack, the Aliquippa facility temporarily halted pumping on Saturday, taking the system offline and switching to manual operation.

According to the AP, the hackers used identical language on social media platforms X and Telegram on Sunday.

In an October post on X, the group claimed to have "infiltrated" 10 water treatment stations located in Israel.

"Once we obtained access to their network, Established [sic] to manipulate, wipe and destruct [sic] all industrial equipment," the group wrote. It is unclear whether the hackers shut down any facilities.

Pennsylvania Democrats Senator John Fetterman, Senator Bob Casey, and Representative Chris Deluzio sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting that the Department of Justice investigate the incident.

"Any attack on our nation's critical infrastructure is unacceptable," the three lawmakers wrote. "If a hack like this can happen here in western Pennsylvania, it can happen anywhere else in the United States."

Casey's office stated that the United States officials confirmed that Cyber Av3ngers was behind the attack.

"A municipal water authority in Aliquippa is the target here, and that controls something we all rely on: access to water," Deluzio told CBS. "So that's where the vulnerabilities are. We've got to shore up defenses and help local government, help private vendors where they're involved, lift up their cybersecurity."

Matthew Mottes, the Pennsylvania water facility's chairman, said that government officials told him that the group attacked four other water authorities and an aquarium.

"We've been told that we are not the only authority that's been affected in the country, but we are believed to be the first," Mottes said. He noted that he is not sure how the device was hacked.

According to the federal government, hackers gained access "by exploiting cybersecurity weaknesses, including poor password security and exposure to the internet."

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stated that it is "aware" of the cyberattack and is "closely engaged with sector and interagency partners to understand this evolving situation and provide any necessary support or guidance."

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