DHS Denies Report of Water Utility Hack

Cnet: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has refuted earlier claims that Russian hackers caused a pump at an Illinois water system to fail. “After detailed analysis, DHS and the FBI have found no evidence of a cyber intrusion into the SCADA system of the Curran-Gardner Public Water District in Springfield, Illinois,” said DHS spokesman Chris Ortman. “There is no evidence to support claims made in initial reports–which were based on raw, unconfirmed data and subsequently leaked to the media–that any credentials were stolen, or that the vendor was involved in any malicious activity that led to a pump failure at the water plant. In addition, DHS and FBI have concluded that there was no malicious traffic from Russia or any foreign entities, as previously reported. Analysis of the incident is ongoing and additional relevant information will be released as it becomes available.”

Meanwhile, the DHS is investigating claims by a hacker named “pr0f,” who says that he broke into the control systems at a Texas water system.