Two municipal water systems in New Jersey were targeted by cyberattacks this week, with officials investigating potential links to Iran and vulnerabilities in widely used utility software.

Key Points

• Two unnamed New Jersey water utilities experienced temporary system outages after hackers exploited vulnerabilities in internet-exposed control software.
• Both facilities successfully transitioned to manual operations, ensuring that water service and safety remained uninterrupted for all customers.
• The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell is coordinating with the FBI and CISA to investigate the incidents.
• Sources identify Iran as a primary suspect, though officials are also investigating whether other state actors are mimicking these specific tactics.
• Similar cyberattacks have recently targeted water and wastewater utilities across at least a dozen U.S. states, including systems in Georgia.

Why it Matters

These incidents highlight critical security vulnerabilities in the software infrastructure that supports essential municipal services across the United States. As federal agencies race to secure these systems, the attacks underscore the growing risk of state-sponsored cyber warfare targeting civilian utility networks.