Two cyberattacks have hit water facilities in New Jersey, and the FBI is now taking a closer look at what happened, according to News 12 New York. The intrusions have raised fresh concerns about the security of the infrastructure that communities rely on for their water supply.
The attacks in New Jersey are among dozens of similar incidents that have targeted facilities around the country, the station reported. Early reports also raised the possibility that the attacks were targeted by Iran, though such a link had not been confirmed as the FBI began its review.
According to the report, hackers are targeting the internet-connected control systems that are used to monitor and manage water facilities remotely. Those systems allow operators to oversee the plants from a distance, but they also create a pathway that intruders can try to exploit from outside.
Experts say the water network is especially vulnerable, in large part because of out-of-date software that is connected to the web. The combination of aging technology and internet access, they warn, leaves critical systems exposed to attacks that can be launched from anywhere.
One expert explained that the software systems, computers and hardware used at such facilities are often not upgraded very much over time. At the same time, a great deal of remote-control capability has been added on top of that older equipment, according to the station.
That remote access, the expert said, runs through the internet, which effectively leaves the systems open to the world. That exposure, they said, is part of the problem, helping to explain why water facilities have become a target for the kind of attacks now under investigation in New Jersey.