18 July 2020; MEMO: Cyber-attacks were carried out recently against Israeli water infrastructure, however no significant damages were caused, the Israeli Water Authority has said.
According to officials, the two attacks were aimed at agricultural water pumps in the Upper Galilee and infrastructure in the centre of the country. No mention was given as to who carried out the attacks.
“These were specific, small drainage installations in the agriculture sector that were immediately and independently repaired by the locals, causing no harm to serve or any real-world effects,” the Water Authority said in a statement.
This comes after the Water Authority structures were hit by a cyber-attack at the end of April which were thwarted by the authority’s cyber-division, with Fox News reporting that it was the work of Iranian hackers.
According to Ynet, a memo sent by Water Authority officials ordered all personnel to immediately change the passwords to the facility’s systems, “with emphasis on the operational system and the chlorine control in particular.”
Moreover, according to the report, Iran used American servers to hack into the facilities.
Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York, denied the attack. “The Iranian government does not engage in cyberwarfare,” he told the Washington Post.
