Expert advises caution as Cyberattacks target infrastructure
CALHOUN COUNTY — Cybercriminals are actively targeting critical infrastructure, including local water and wastewater systems, according to recent reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An alert from the FBI dated July 30 stated that since late July, water and wastewater companies “in at least seven states have reported incidents to the FBI, and some of that activity degraded water operations”.
A late July cyberattack on Childersburg Water, Sewer and Gas brought the threat close to home for Calhoun County residents.
While high-profile breaches at major corporations often dominate national headlines, cyber threats targeting essential public services pose a distinct danger to communities of every size, experts say.
“Water and wastewater systems are an attractive target because they’re essential services,” said Kirby Watson, president of the Alabama-based managed IT and cybersecurity firm Aligned Tek. “An attacker doesn’t necessarily need to steal millions of records to create an impact if they can disrupt pumps, treatment processes, monitoring systems, or normal operations.”
The threat is far from theoretical
Federal agencies issued an urgent advisory earlier this year warning of ongoing attacks against U.S. water infrastructure. In a recent spike, more than 30 community water systems across states like Minnesota and Michigan experienced breaches over two days.
A major vulnerability for utilities stems from how their internal networks are structured. Traditional IT covers standard business tools like email, office computers, and financial software. Operational technology, or OT, controls physical machinery such as automated pumps and chemical treatment timers.
“Protecting both is really important, and keeping them separated is really important,” Watson said. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot of water utilities that are not separating them as well as they should.”
Despite the sophisticated nature of modern cyber threats, Watson emphasized that defensive strategies must begin with the basics. Key steps include disabling direct internet access to industrial control equipment, requiring multi-factor authentication for remote access, maintaining off-site backups, and running 24/7 network monitoring.
Crucially, organizations must focus on human factors and preparation.
“The vast majority of these breaches happen because someone clicks a link that they think they should click,” Watson said.
Originally posted at the Anniston Star on Yahoo! News.
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