Cyberattack Targets America’s Largest Water Utility, Putting Millions at Risk

American Water, America’s largest water and wastewater utility, revealed on Tuesday that they were the victim of a cyber-attack.

 

In a press release, the New Jersey utility company said that it became aware on Thursday of “unauthorized activities” in its computer networks and systems. It was determined that this activity was a result of a hacker attack.

 

The company stated, “After learning about the problem, our team immediately activated incident response protocols, and third-party cyber professionals to help with containment and mitigation, as well as an investigation into the scope and nature of the incident. We have also informed law enforcement, and we are working closely with them.”

 

 

“American Water has also taken their customer portal offline in response to the crisis, and halted billing until further notification,” they stated.

 

The company stated that they believe at this time that this incident has not negatively affected any of their water or wastewater operations or facilities. They also said that the team is working hard to restore the systems safely.

 

 

According to their website, American Water was founded in 1886 and provides drinking water and wastewater service to over 14 million people living across 14 states, and at 18 military installations. The company manages over 500 water and wastewater systems in 1,700 communities in California, Illinois, and Kentucky.

 

American Water stated that the investigation into this cyberattack “will take time” to be completed.