Coordinated Cyberattack Impacts Over 30 Minnesota Water Systems

Widespread Disruption to Water Utilities

More than 30 community water systems across Minnesota were subjected to a coordinated cyberattack on July 26 and 27. The attack specifically targeted the operational technology (OT) systems of these utilities, leading to various disruptions.

The City of Braham reported that its water plant went offline, prompting officials to ask residents to minimize water use until services were restored. Braham later confirmed the outage was due to a "malicious cyber-attack of computerized operating systems by unknown actors."

Impact on Multiple Cities

Beyond Braham, other Minnesota communities also experienced issues. Plymouth reported cellular communication problems at two water towers and multiple wastewater lift stations, though operations continued manually. South St. Paul and Maple Plain maintained services despite their automated utility controls being affected, with Maple Plain declaring a local state of emergency to manage its response.

The nature and extent of the impact varied across the more than 30 affected systems, according to Minnesota IT Services (MNIT).

Statewide Cybersecurity Response

In response to the incident, MNIT activated its cybersecurity incident response capabilities across the entire state. As of July 28, MNIT stated it was not aware of any active requests for residents to change their drinking water use.

Officials have not publicly identified the attackers, the specific products or vulnerabilities exploited, or whether any data was stolen during the cyberattack.