Cyberattack Hits 2 Cape May County Water Systems

Published reports confirm that two Cape May County water systems were recently targeted in a cyberattack

NBC10 reports that officials at the City of Cape May Water and Sewer Department and the Borough of Woodbine Water Department recently identified and responded to a cybersecurity incident that impacted parts of their computer network.

Cyberattacks on municipal water systems have now been confirmed in seven states, including these two in New Jersey, raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the potential role of foreign adversaries.

Iran is thought to be behind these recent attacks on municipal water systems, including Cape May and Woodbine.

Officials Say There Are No Safety Concerns for Public Drinking Water

The issues with the water systems seem to be mainly internet-based, which made it possible for hackers to infiltrate, change passwords, and lock out operators.

Officials in Cape May and Woodbine said the incident didn’t impact the safety or quality of the public drinking water in either area and that the water treatment, supply, and monitoring systems continue to operate safely.

Water problems after cyberattacks in other states have ranged from low-pressure water flow in people’s homes to some utilities announcing boil-water notices. But there have been no reports of drinking water contamination.

Mayors in Cape May and Woodbine React to the Cyber Attacks

Cape May City Mayor Zachary Mullock released this statement on Thursday concerning the water system attack

“We are taking every effort to protect and defend our water supply and production.

 

We supply water to the City of Cape May, West Cape May, Lower Township, Cape May Point, and the United States’ only Coast Guard Training Center located in Cape May City.

 

We are working with state and federal agencies to ensure our water desalination plant is protected from any adversarial threat.”

“Fortunately, Woodbine’s water system is constructed in such a way that any outside attempts at gaining access to the system are caught immediately and resolved just as quickly,” said Borough of Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky.

“Bad actors were only successful in interrupting our phone communication to the water system.

The water supply system is a popular target with bad actors from other counties who realize the panic effect such an attack can have on people.

What Can Town Residents Do?

Residents of one of the towns impacted by these attacks can't directly fix or patch the computer system of the town's water system.

Nor is there any need to. There are qualified professionals at the local level watching the situation.

However, you can protect your household by staying informed about developments, conserving water if officials ask, obeying boil-water advisories if needed, and reporting unusual water pressure or quality issues to your municipality.