Investigating whether Iran launched cyberattack on Minnesota water facilities

A U.S. cybersecurity agency is investigating a coordinated cyberattack on more than 30 municipal water facilities in Minnesota, with details suggesting involvement by Iranian hackers. The Minnesota Information Technology (MNIT) agency issued an advisory Tuesday and said it is coordinating the probe with federal partners including CISA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the FBI. Officials said they have not attributed the activity to a specific actor and that attribution to a single actor remains under review. MNIT found similarities across incidents, including attack timing and the “types of technology involved.” Targets included programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and human-machine interfaces (HMIs). Minnesota’s Chief Information Security Officer John Israel said the state provided information to federal agencies assessing the activity nationally.