Cyberattack on Pittsburgh-area water authority sends alarms to Department of Homeland Security
ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (KDKA) — A cyberattack over the weekend on the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa has international implications.
Aliquippa would seem to be an unlikely target for international cyber criminals, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is investigating the possible attack by an anti-Israeli Iranian group on the water authority.
On Saturday, the nondescript water authority building in the woods on the outskirts of Aliquippa became the target of an international attack. A piece of computer technology that monitors water pressure suddenly shut down and a message appeared on its screen.
"Stating that our system had been hacked by legal authority by the 'Cyber Av3ngers. Down with Israel,'" said Matthew Mottes, chairman of the water authority.
The authority immediately shut down its automated system and resumed operations manually, adding that it was able to maintain service without interruption. But the apparent attack sent alarms to Washington, D.C. and the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is now investigating.
"I'm surprised, but I'm not shocked,' Congressman Chris Deluzio said. "We've seen attacks from nation-state adversaries on a lot of our infrastructure."
The hacked equipment is manufactured by Unitronitics, a technology company based in Israel. The "Cyber Av3ngers" are an Iranian hacking group that has claimed responsibility on the social media platform X for a dozen cyberattacks on water systems within Israel.
Deluzio says the Aliquippa attack raises concerns about more attacks within the United States and the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure, especially in our poorer communities.
"They want to target those who have the least resources to defend, which is a good lesson for us" he said. "When we shore up our weapons for our defenses, we've got to make sure we are giving local governments and state governments the means to protect themselves."
Deluzio, who has been in contact with Homeland Security, expects a briefing in the next few days, but the attack is still shocking to Aliquippa, which finds itself in the center of an international conflict.
"It's not like it's World War II where we had the mills and the big industry here when, understandably, we'd be a target from a foreign adversary," Mottes said. "But oddly enough, they found us."
And even though the water authority took action and no customer was impacted, Deluzio and others say this is a warning about the vulnerability of infrastructure in these turbulent times.
