Unknown hackers have targeted the water supply system in County Mayo, Ireland, leaving 180 households without access to water. The attack took place on Thursday in the Erris area of western Ireland. The private pumping station in Binghamstown/Drum, which was established in 1974, was the specific target of the attack, as reported by Western People[1].
Noel Walsh, one of the company’s leaders, stated that they usually receive automatic notifications of technical issues, but this time no warnings were received. Upon arriving at the site, the watchman discovered the message “You were hacked” on the control system screen. Additionally, a slogan reading “Down with Israel” was displayed, indicating the political motives of the attack and the name of the group involved.
The connection to Israel stems from the fact that the water supply system’s equipment was manufactured by the Israeli company Eurotronics. Many areas in Ireland use systems from this manufacturer[1].
Walsh commented, “It is likely that the Irish water council has the resources to create powerful firewalls capable of withstanding such attacks. However, the hackers managed to bypass our protection, which did not immediately thwart the attack. The entire Friday was spent manually restoring water supply”[1].
During a meeting with police representatives on December 1, Rose Convey-Walsh, a Sinn Féin party representative, raised concerns regarding the preparedness of state bodies to counter cyber attacks. She also inquired about the precautions taken to safeguard other water supply systems and various organizations and agencies. In response, Raymond McMahan, the senior head, stated that the police are closely collaborating with national cybersecurity units and conducting regular joint operations. McMahan also mentioned that there have been no other similar incidents reported in the region thus far[1].
In a similar event in November, hackers targeted the municipal water supply systems in Alikvippa, Pennsylvania, gaining control over one of the pumping stations. This attack, attributed to the Iranian group Cyber Av3NG