Security News > 2024 > January > UK water giant admits attackers broke into system as gang holds it to ransom

Southern Water provides water services to 2.5 million customers and wastewater services to 4.7 million customers in the southern regions of the England.

Some documents leaked online are branded with Greensands logos - the parent company of Southern Water.

"To support and reinforce EPA's ongoing efforts, CISA is prioritizing the water sector in its engagements and efforts due to the significant level of cyber and physical risk associated with this sector combined with its relative lack of resources to address those risks," reads the agency's dedicated page for the water industry.

Iranian attackers are thought to be behind an attack on a Pennsylvania water authority in November 2023 after compromising Unitronics programmable logic controllers.

Attacks on Western critical infrastructure have been an acute concern for cybersecurity authorities in recent years, and the UK National Cyber Security Centre has recently issued an advisory highlighting the threat to critical infrastructure, including water organizations.

In 2022, now-dismantled ransomware crew Clop claimed an attack on Thames Water but the silly skids instead breached South Staffordshire - parent company to South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/23/southern_water_confirms_cyberattack/