Has the Russian government been messing around with Texas?
According to experts from US cybersecurity firm Mandiant, they most likely have. On Wednesday they announced a hacking group with ties to the Russian government is suspected of carrying out a cyberattack in January.
The attack, which targeted the small town of Muleshoe in north Texas, caused a tank at a water facility to overflow about 30 to 45 minutes before officials were able to intervene.
According to CNN, this attack coincided with suspicious cyber activity detected in at least two other towns in the region, prompting the FBI to launch an investigation into the matter.
The hackers behind the attack are believed to be part of a notorious unit of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency known as Sandworm. The group has a history of carrying out disruptive cyberattacks, including those that targeted Ukrainian infrastructure.
The evidence is a channel, that Mandiant publicly linked on telegram, where
hackers claimed responsibility for the Muleshoe attack. However, Mandiant analysts say it remains unclear whether the GRU is behind the attacks or if some other hackers were trying to impersonate GRU.
In response to the attack, the Biden-Harris administration has advised state officials to bolster security measures for protecting water systems from cyber threats. However, experts warn that many public water systems in the US remain vulnerable to cyberattacks due to a lack of resources and personnel to address these threats.
The FBI continues to investigate the cyberattacks, but so far, no official statements have been made regarding the perpetrators.
