Cyberattacks target nine Michigan water systems, including Lansing’s Board of Water and Light
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LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – Federal investigators are tracking Iranian-backed hackers suspected of targeting nine municipal water systems across Michigan in a coordinated cyberattack, including the Lansing Board of Water and Light.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said none of the systems were compromised and confirmed there were no known impacts from the attacks that posed any public health concern.
The Lansing Board of Water and Light confirmed it was among the targeted systems. Public Information Officer Vernon Myers said the utility was prepared to respond.
“Nothing surprises me anymore. We have a saying here that water is life,” Myers said.
Myers said the attack was detected through monitoring activity.
“BWL was a target. We have seen an up-tick in scans of our firewalls and the ports that were exploited,” he said.
Funding gaps a concern, expert says
Michigan State University cybersecurity expert Tom Holt said the vulnerability of water systems may depend on available funding.
“You have some places that are very remote or that are very rural and don’t have the same degree of infrastructure as you might find in more of an urban environment, or one that has a little more tax revenue to update systems and manage them,” Holt said.
Holt said successfully hacking computer-operated water systems requires significant skill, but that increasing cyber threats require a well-funded defense.
“I know no one wants to raise taxes, no one wants to increase fees, but realistically, that’s one of the few ways that we have to make sure that our power or water or sewer, et cetera, are all at least standardized or to a certain degree modernized where they can work more effectively,” Holt said.
Michigan joins list of targeted states
Michigan is now the seventh U.S. state to become the target of an attempted water system attack. Minnesota reported more than 30 such attacks as part of the same effort that targeted Michigan.
Holt said international and cybersecurity upgrades should be part of the discussion when the state considers ways to improve infrastructure.
He adds that the incidents are a reminder to Michigan residents to keep their own supply of drinking water and emergency supplies in the event that an attack is successful, for any measure of time.
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