Key facts
- Foreign hackers targeted two Colorado water systems in late August.
- The hackers altered equipment settings, including disabling remote access and alarms.
- There was no impact on public safety or water services.
- The incidents occurred at privately owned utilities serving fewer than 200 people each.
- An Iranian-backed group is known to target drinking water and wastewater systems.
Foreign hackers targeted and manipulated equipment in two local Colorado water systems in late August, a spokesperson for Colorado Governor Jared Polis said on Friday. The incidents occurred at two privately owned utilities, each serving less than 200 people, and there was "no impact to public safety or water services," the spokesperson, Ally Sullivan, said in a statement.
Sullivan said the governor's office "cannot confirm what foreign actors may have been involved, but we are aware of ongoing efforts across the nation by an Iranian-backed group to access drinking water and wastewater systems." The hackers managed to change equipment settings, including disabling remote access and alarms and altering pumping cycles, Sullivan said.