Poland’s intelligence service said it detected attacks on five water treatment plants where hackers could have taken control of the industrial equipment inside, including, in the worst case, tampering with the safety of the water supply.
The story is relevant beyond Poland’s borders: U.S. water infrastructure has faced similar threats in recent years. In 2021, a hacker briefly gained access to a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida and attempted to increase the level of sodium hydroxide — a caustic chemical — to dangerous levels. The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have since warned that water utilities remain a soft target for foreign hackers.
