ByJennifer Kotila
Today at 5:14 AM
Willmar Municipal Utilities
General Manager Jeron Smith on Monday addressed the cyberattacks that occurred on more than 30 water systems throughout the state in late July
“We have not detected any attacks on our water systems. Breathe a sigh of relief there for now,” Smith said before explaining how the water system uses telecommunication devices to control water flows
Willmar Municipal Utilities pumps water from aquifers below the ground and brings it into the treatment plant to be filtered, after which it is distributed to customers. Some of that water is stored in the water towers to ensure there is always enough water supply available
“There’s basically two processes: We filter the water and we pump it into storage,” Smith said. “And there’s automated controls that help this happen. If we need to filter more water, we turn on the water plant and produce more water. If we need more water in the towers, we turn on pumps to produce more or to fill the towers. And then it’s communication between tower levels whether pumps are on and whether the treatment plant is running or not.”
He explained that hackers, who are yet to be identified, breached communication devices, or cellular connections, that control water treatment plants and changed the configuration so the devices could no longer be accessed remotely
For example, if a pump was filling a water tower and its communication was disrupted, the pump wouldn’t turn off and the water tower would overflow. The other extreme is if the pump wasn’t running and the communication was disrupted, the tower is just going to empty
“(The communication device) is going to call for the pump to turn on. It’ll never happen because that communication line doesn’t work,” Smith said. “ … I don’t know the details on, you know, the communities that were hacked, but that’s just kind of how the system in general works, and how the attack actually disrupted that process.”
Smith said Willmar Municipal Utilities is monitoring the situation closely and an all-staff cybersecurity awareness meeting took place to supplement its ongoing cybersecurity program and discuss the recent attacks with staff
“Our cybersecurity training focuses on a couple different topics. First and foremost prevention, and then it’s containment, eradication, recovery and finally reporting,” Smith said
A third-party consultant that provides much of the programming for Willmar’s treatment plants represents other communities that were targets of the hacking and has been in contact with the FBI about the matter. Willmar Municipal Utilities is expecting to hear more from the consultant about recommendations for local improvements
Municipal Utilities is also getting a quote from its insurance agency for a standalone cybersecurity policy to supplement current coverage
Smith also explained that an information technology firm is under contract to develop firewall protocols to enforce antivirus systems. Every two years, a penetration test is conducted to evaluate the security of the system, and a list of recommended improvements is provided. Smith is awaiting a new report from the test currently being conducted
By
Jennifer Kotila
Jennifer Kotila is a reporter for West Central Tribune of Willmar, Minnesota. She focuses on local government, specifically the City of Willmar, and business. She can be reached via email at: jkotila@wctrib.com or phone at 320-295-6115.
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