A hacking group that has been closely tied to Iran and has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack last month that impacted more than 30 Minnesota water systems, according to a report.
A hacking group that has been closely tied to Iran and has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack last month that impacted more than 30 Minnesota water systems, according to a report.
Threat Beat, which is run by Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, reports that APT IRAN posted on Telegram, “The attack on Minnesota was the work of the CyberAv3ngers group and us, and we take direct responsibility for it.”
RELATED: Cyberattack on over 30 Minnesota water systems may be linked to Iran
The McCrary Institute is a nonpartisan think tank that’s widely regarded as a leading program on cybersecurity — even advising U.S. leaders in the space.
Its report through Threat Beat states that APT IRAN and CyberAv3ngers had already known to be closely linked before the recent post on the Minnesota cyberattack, and CyberAv3ngers is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the U.S. government and Rewards for Justice.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says on its website that the IRGC is designated as a foreign terrorist organization that has targeted U.S. technology — including water and wastewater systems — through CyberAv3ngers and on behalf of the Iranian government dating back to 2023.
CyberAv3ngers previously posted on its own Telegram channel that it “has carried out attacks on U.S. infrastructure, and we warn America to back down,” Threat Beat reports. The latest post from APT Iran added that “our intention in attacking Minnesota was only to warn” of its abilities and its intention to retaliate against “any country that poses a threat to Iran.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), the FBI and CISA for comment. MNIT and the FBI said they were aware of the posts by CyberAv3ngers and APT Iran but declined comment. CISA has yet to respond.
MNIT also has yet to respond to an inquiry as to whether or not the state’s investigation into the water systems issues is still ongoing.
Background
On July 26 and 27, attacks aimed “operational technology” caused temporary equipment malfunctions at more than 30 community water utility systems, according to MNIT, which previously said that no ransom was detected.
All communities were able to resolve the issues quickly enough that no major disruptions were caused. However, it caused some cities, like Braham, and state leaders to raise concerns with system vulnerability.
In the following days, roughly a dozen other states reported similar issues, and on July 30, multiple U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News that investigators were looking into Iran’s possible links to the attacks.
RELATED: Hackers aren’t just stealing data anymore — Minnesota cyberattack shows they’re targeting your water
Jonathan Wrolstad, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Minnesota, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the U.S. government recently warned of similar incidents.
“They put out an advisory saying that Iranian groups were interested in going after critical infrastructure and they highlighted really this exact type of scenario,” Wrolstad said.
Despite that, President Donald Trump denied Iran’s involvement and instead blamed Minnesota for the issues.
RELATED: Minnesota water systems cyberattack: Trump says state to blame, not Iran
Since then, agencies involved in the investigation have been mostly mum about any developments, with no new issues reported by local communities.
The FBI’s Cyber Division late last month warned of “malicious cyber actors targeting water and wastewater sector” programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and more recently highlighted concerns with Gunra ransomware, which is used to target critical government infrastructure. However, it doesn’t appear to be linked to the water system attacks.
On Thursday, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Adam Schiff introduced federal legislation to strengthen the country’s water infrastructure, and specifically cited the Minnesota cyberattacks. It’s unclear if that legislation will garner bipartisan support needed to pass Congress.
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