State Actors Target Water Systems Amid Weak Cyber Defenses

The report warns that Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly targeting water and wastewater systems by exploiting weak OT defenses such as exposed HMIs and programmable logic controllers; Iranian-linked actors have used weak authentication to deface systems, Russian actors have manipulated municipal water systems to cause physical disruptions, China is seeking long-term access for future leverage, and recent ransomware incidents have forced utilities to revert to manual operations, underscoring chronic underinvestment in sector cybersecurity.