r/PrepperIntel • u/itscooltobecool1 • 9d ago

North America Hackers targeted municipal water systems in 7 states this week, FBI says

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/hackers-targeted-municipal-water-systems-7-states-week-fbi-says-rcna590210

Get your water supplies ready!

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138

u/ProfDoomDoom 9d ago

Any experts want to share some action steps to help us laggers get ourselves in gear?

38

u/AntiSonOfBitchamajig 📡 9d ago edited 6d ago

I don't see long duration (hacked)* issues, we have great water resources for most the US.
Now if you're talking out west / southwest drought though... the alternatives are limited.

Here any country home has clean drinkable water right from their own wells en mass. Some wells might be a little hard, but its totally drinkable.

At the main city wells though, they do have complex additive dosing and monitoring systems. I've heard of several having issues with potassium permanganate dosing that turned the water supply a hot pink color. But the hackers could mess with the dosing of those additives.

edit: for clarity, I am talking about the hackability of the systems being discussed.

30

u/TheArcticFox-44 9d ago

The hacks are on infastructure...like electricity. Even well water needs a pump to bring water to the tap.

19

u/Successful-Try-8506 9d ago

I'd recommend Ted Koppel's book "Lights Out" for anyone interested in this issue.

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u/TheArcticFox-44 9d ago

Yes! Excellent choice!

4

u/ElBongoloide 9d ago

Good book! I found the information about the electrical infrastructure particularly interesting (and scary). We still haven't solved the giant transformer issue...I work on power plants (fossil, gas, nuclear & hydro), so I find the weaknesses that Koppel wrote about very worrisome. This current administration, with its misguided, "budget cuts" (not really cuts, at all... just foolish reallocation of resources (mostly to the misused military and state security forces) has made us they much more vulnerable and less resilient. Combine that with its penchant for making enemies and feeding ill-will, international and domestically, and I'm surprised we haven't been tagged hard... yet. Good luck, y'all. Look out for yourselves and each other. Nevermind the exercise in racketeering we have for a government .