Madeleine Rivera reported that a Minnesota water utilities cyberattack targeted operational technology at more than 30 community water systems on Sunday, July 26, and Monday, July 27. Minnesota IT Services activated the state’s cybersecurity response and brought in federal agencies to help investigate.
The FBI said water or wastewater utility companies in seven states have been affected. The bureau said, “Some of that activity degraded water operations.”
MNIT and Federal Agencies
The attack hit operational technology, or OT, the systems that control pumps, valves and treatment machinery. Workers at some utilities switched to manual operations or used backup procedures to keep essential services running.
That response limited the disruption for some communities, but one water plant temporarily went offline. State officials reported no active requests for residents to reduce or change their drinking water use.
Braham and Plymouth Reports
In Braham, city officials initially reported that the water plant had gone offline for an unknown reason. Crews restored the facility within hours, and officials later said the outage was caused by a malicious cyberattack against computerized operating systems.
While the Braham plant was offline, the city relied on water already stored in its tower. Plymouth reported communications problems involving two water towers and several wastewater lift stations, adding to the list of local systems that had to fall back on alternate procedures.
Seven States Under Review
The FBI said the affected utilities are spread across seven states, but it did not identify the full list. For residents and utility workers, the immediate issue is whether local control systems can keep operating while crews watch for further problems and investigators trace how the attack moved through connected equipment.
The open question now is which specific six other states were affected besides Minnesota, as federal and state investigators continue reviewing the scope of the attack.
