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SOMETHING IN THE WATER — 2 municipal water facilities report falling to hackers in separate breaches The facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas serve more than 2 million residents.

Dan Goodin – Nov 30, 2023 12:42 am UTC EnlargeGetty Images reader comments 18 with

In the stretch of a few days, two municipal water facilities that serve more than 2 million residents in parts of Pennsylvania and Texas have reported network security breaches that have hamstrung parts of their business or operational processes.

In response to one of the attacks, the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania temporarily shut down a pump providing drinking water from the facilitys treatment plant to the townships of Raccoon and Potter, according to reporting by the Beaver Countian. A photo the Water Authority provided to news outlets showed the front panel of a programmable logic controllera toaster-sized box often abbreviated as PLC thats used to automate physical processes inside of industrial settingsthat displayed an anti-Israeli message. The PLC bore the logo of the manufacturer Unitronics. A sign above it read Primary PLC. WWS facilities in the crosshairs

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration on Tuesday published an advisory that warned of recent attacks compromising Unitronics PLCs used in Water and Wastewater Systems, which are often abbreviated as WWSes. Although the notice didnt identify any facilities by name, the account of one hack was almost identical to the one that occurred inside the Aliquippa facility.

Cyber threat actors are targeting PLCs associated with WWS facilities, including an identified Unitronics PLC, at a US water facility, CISA officials wrote. In response, the affected municipalitys water authority immediately took the system offline and switched to manual operationsthere is no known risk to the municipalitys drinking water or water supply.

Water Authority officials told reporters the hacked PLC regulates pressure to elevated regions and was housed in whats known as a booster station that served Raccoon and Potter. As soon as the PLC was hacked, the booster station sent an alarm to operators who then took the system offline and took manual control. They said there was never a threat to the availability of water to the 6,615 customers the facility serves. Advertisement

A second hack hitting the North Texas Municipal Water District came to light on Monday after a ransomware group tracked as DAIXIN added the district, abbreviated as NTMWD, to its leak site. The post said the group has stolen sensitive data contained in 33,844 files. A text file that accompanied the post showed what appeared to be an extensive file directory tree of the network belonging to the NTMWD. Enlarge / A partial screenshot of a text file left on the DAIXIN website listing some of the files stolen.

The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) recently detected a cybersecurity incident affecting our business computer network, an official wrote in an email. Most of our business network has been restored. Our core water, wastewater, and solid waste services to our Member Cities and Customers have not been impacted by this incident, and we continue to provide those services as usual. The official went on to say that phone systems remained offline. The district has engaged third-party forensic investigators to probe the extent of the breach.

While the network intrusion didnt come to light until Monday, NTMWD first notified residents of a phone outage on November 12. The official didnt say when the breach occurred. NTMWD serves 2.2 million people across 2,200 square miles.

DAIXIN was first spotted in June 2022. The group, which has been actively tracked by both CISA and the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, has successfully targeted a wide range of industries including health care, aerospace, automotive, and packaged foods.

Less is known about Cyber Aveng3rs, the group claiming responsibility for the hack on the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa. It may be the same group known as Cyber Av3ngers or connected to Cyber Av3ngers, which has ties to a group Microsoft has linked to the Iranian-government-backed Moses group.

Its tempting to think that the hacks of two different water facilities coming to light within a few days signals an escalation. Its easier to bear in mind that water facilities are notoriously underfunded and employ IT staff who receive little training and resources and are underpaid. Either way, the attacks should serve as a wake up call to political leaders at every level of government that critical infrastructure is vulnerable to hacking and will remain that way until they make the necessary investments. reader comments 18 with Dan Goodin Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Next story → Related Stories Today on Ars

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Kneecap release new single ahead of Wide Awake headline show

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Kneecap release new single ahead of Wide Awake headline show

Kneecap have released a new single ahead of their headline performance at London’s Wide Awake festival, just days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.

The rap trio from Belfast shared a link to the song – The Recap – which opens with Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost reporting about the counter terrorism police investigation – on Instagram, linking to their WhatsApp channel.

Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
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Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA

Bandmembers Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, also thanked the 25,000 fans who had bought tickets for Friday night’s festival.

They also reference Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, with whom they’ve had previous run-ins, writing: “Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you’ve any seats left.”

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Ms Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.

Ms Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Some other politicians have made the same demand.

The track mocks Badenoch’s attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party’s election loss. It features DJ Mozey.

It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.

He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer, saying: “I need to thank my lawyer, he’s here tonight as well.”

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Stars talk about risks of speaking out

In video footage posted to YouTube, the band led the audience in a chant of “free Mo Chara” and joked about the police presence at the venue.

Police said they attended to manage visitors to the sold-out event.

The band said on X that the central London event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.

O hAnnaidh, 27, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.

Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English and proved a critical hit in the 2024 semi-fictionalised band origin story movie Kneecap, starring actor Michael Fassbender.

Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.

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Sources: Isles hiring Darche from T.B. as new GM

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Sources: Isles hiring Darche from T.B. as new GM

The New York Islanders have the man to make the first pick in the draft. Sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the team is hiring Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche as its new GM.

Darche played parts of nine seasons in the league with five different teams.

He has worked in Tampa Bay’s front office since 2019, helping the Lightning win two Stanley Cups. This will be the 48-year-old’s first general manager job.

Darche takes over for Lou Lamoriello, who was fired this offseason after seven seasons on the job. New York didn’t make the playoffs this season and hasn’t made it past the first round since 2020-21 — when the Islanders lost in the East semifinals to the Lightning.

The Isles lucked out in the draft lottery, jumping from 10th to the first selection. This will be the first time they’ll have the top pick since taking John Tavares in 2009.

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Nill, Cheveldayoff, Zito up for GM of Year Award

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Nill, Cheveldayoff, Zito up for GM of Year Award

Jim Nill, Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito have been named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the NHL announced Friday.

The voting for the award was conducted between league general managers, a panel of executives and media members following the conclusion of the second round of the playoffs.

Nill, 67, has seen his Dallas Stars reach the Western Conference finals for the third straight season. He is a two-time winner of this award (2023, 2024) and five-time finalist

Cheveldayoff, 55, has spent the last 14 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, who captured the Presidents’ Trophy this season. He also was a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in 2018.

Zito, 60, is looking to guide the Florida Panthers to their third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. He has been a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in three straight years and four of the last five.

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