CISA warns of cyberattacks disrupting U.S. water utilities
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued a warning about a notable rise in cyberattacks targeting internet-connected programmable logic controllers used in water and wastewater systems across the country. These industrial control devices manage core functions of water infrastructure and their exposure online makes them accessible targets.
Why this matters: Water treatment is not abstract infrastructure. It is what makes tap water safe to drink. Programmable logic controllers run the physical processes — pumps, chemical dosing, filtration. If attackers can reach them over the internet, they can potentially interfere with those processes, not just steal data. The real problem here is that these devices were never designed to sit on the open internet. Someone made a decision to connect them that way. That decision has consequences, and so far it is utilities and the people who depend on them carrying the risk.
Who should care: Cybersecurity · Privacy officers · Administrators
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