Cyber Av3ngers hijacked a controller at Aliquippa's water authority

The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, a small utility in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, reported that attackers took control of equipment at one of its remote booster stations on Saturday, November 25, 2023. The station monitors and regulates water pressure for Raccoon and Potter townships.

A group calling itself Cyber Av3ngers, which researchers and U.S. officials link to Iran, claimed the intrusion. The device it reached was a Unitronics Vision series programmable logic controller, an Israeli-made unit that the group said it had targeted for that reason. The controller's screen was left displaying a message declaring that any equipment made in Israel was a legitimate target.

An alarm alerted operators as soon as the controller went down. Staff disabled the affected system and switched the booster station to manual operation. Board chairman Matthew Mottes said the attackers did not reach the treatment plant or other parts of the network, and the authority, which serves roughly 6,600 customers, said there was no known risk to the drinking water or the supply.

Pennsylvania State Police opened an investigation and Representative Chris Deluzio said he was in contact with federal authorities. Advisories issued afterwards noted the controller had been exposed to the internet and protected with weak credentials. Cyber Av3ngers had previously claimed attacks on water facilities in Israel, though SecurityWeek cautioned that the group has a record of overstating its results.