Massachusetts is not currently at risk of falling prey to a cyberattack affecting water systems in the Midwest, according to state officials.
Last week, authorities said cyberattacks targeted over 30 water systems in Minnesota. Michigan reported similar attacks.
In a statement posted to its website Sunday, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which provides water and sewer services to 3.1 million people and more than 5,500 companies in the Boston area, said it is “actively monitoring” the situation in Minnesota and that its staff is working “around the clock to ensure that the water and wastewater systems are safe and secure.”
“We have not discovered any of the vulnerabilities that are being exploited in other systems,” the agency wrote in a statement.
The Commonwealth Fusion Center, a terrorism and cyber threat clearinghouse operated by the Massachusetts State Police, is also “actively tracking” the situation.
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security spokesperson Brenna Galvin said Sunday, “There are no credible threats to Massachusetts.”
In 2023, Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated a water and electricity plant in the town of Littleton. Law enforcement intervened before hackers gained control of the utility.
The source of the recent attacks in Minnesota and Michigan is being investigated by the FBI, but they came amid warnings from the federal government that Iranian hackers have been focused on targeting public utilities like wastewater systems and other infrastructure.
This is not the first time threats like these have arisen. In 2016, the Justice Department charged a group of Iranian hackers in connection with a cyberattack targeting a dam near New York City.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @samanthajgross.