Iranian group claims Central Valley water hack; officials cite no evidence of breach

FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — An Iranian hacker group is claiming it has the power to mess with the water system in California, specifically in the Central Valley.

While water officials say there is no evidence, the actual water supply was compromised.

The threat is raising questions about the security of critical infrastructure.

Cybersecurity experts and state leaders discuss whether residents should be concerned.

The group known as Handala posted what appears to be a California water customer bill online, claiming it had infiltrated systems serving communities including Bakersfield, Visalia, and Chico.

Experts say that it may show access to customer information but not to the actual water system.

Sean Malone, Chief Information Security Officer, said, “They were able to access a GPS utility used to manage the pipelines and inspect pipelines and business information systems, essentially the sorts of things it would hold, billing information for their customer base.

Cybersecurity analysts say the group has a history of making bold claims despite a lack of evidence.

The California water supply says they have seen no disruptions to its wastewater system and billing platform.

In a statement, “We take cybersecurity and the security of our data and systems very seriously, and we will continue to thoroughly investigate this matter and closely collaborate with our federal and state government partners.”

Some of those partners, including Senator Melissa Hurtado, say there should be more done to protect vital services.

In a post, Representative Vince Fong says he is in communication with federal agencies.

He is calling this threat a “wake-up call” where the defense system must be strong.

Eric Wojtkun has worked with the FBI for over 20 years.

Wojtkun explained, “We’ll be going up and working with the state of California and the utilities to determine if there is an actual exploit on the system. And they’ll be doing that not just today because the note came in from this group, but they’ll be doing it every month regularly, like clockwork, in order to protect the American public.

So why water?

He continued, “ Because water is so foundational to our society. It’s something that touches every single home, but it makes sense for this type of politically motivated, hacktivist adversary that’s looking to generate attention.

The city of Visalia is reporting no impacts from this incident.

In a statement, they say in part, “The City of Visalia and CalWater operate independent utility billing platforms, as the City’s utility billing system manages accounts for trash, wastewater, and sewer services only. We do not share data or digital infrastructure with their water service operations.”