WANA (Jul 29) – The cyber group Handala has announced a coordinated operation targeting more than 30 municipal water treatment and supply facilities across the U.S. state of Minnesota, claiming the attack disrupted automated control systems at these centers.

 

According to statement details released by the group regarding one of the largest cyber operations in recent months, the attacks took place over two consecutive days.

 

The cyber offensive resulted in severe disruptions to automated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, forcing several municipalities to switch to manual operations to maintain emergency water services.

 

U.S. federal and state authorities have launched a comprehensive investigation into the breach. While officials confirmed that drinking water remains safe and major public utility service outages were avoided, cyber security experts view the incident as a sharp escalation in cyber threats targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.

 

The FBI and American cybersecurity agencies are actively evaluating the scope of the attack and the threat actors’ intrusion methods. The incident comes just days after U.S. security agencies warned of growing risks facing industrial control systems, exposing ongoing vulnerabilities within the nation’s water infrastructure.

 

Reports indicate that just days prior to the attack, a Russian cybersecurity researcher on an online forum had attributed the preparation of these complex operations to the Handala hacking group.