Michigan is among the states reporting a “coordinated cyberattack” which targeted more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota and potentially several other states on Sunday, July 26 and Monday, July 27, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
According to Dale George, the director of communications at the state agency, the department received a “small number of reports from Michigan communities indicating activity consistent with what federal agencies described.”
All systems continued to operate safely, George said in an email to the Free Press on Saturday, Aug. 1, and the issues were addressed by local operators.
There are no known impacts that posed a public health concern, officials said.
Investigators believe the cyberattack on more than 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota, per a report from the New York Times, also targeted Michigan and was probably conducted by Iranian hackers, although investigators have not definitively determined who was responsible.
“The FBI is aware of recent public reporting around Water and Wastewater (WWS) sectors,” the FBI wrote in an email to the Free Press on Saturday. “The FBI and our interagency partners are fully engaged to protect critical infrastructure and we remain well-equipped to protect against cyber threats of all varieties.”
Michigan’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget reported a “system issue” with MiLogin services, Michigan’s identity management system that allows users the ability to access state services and systems across multiple state agencies, at 1:31 p.m. July 27.
Later that day, at 11:35 p.m., the state announced that the outage was resolved.
It is unknown if these events are connected.
This story was updated to reflect a statement from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan investigating cyberattack on water infrastructure
Reporting by Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
