Are hacks of U.S. water facilities a new front in the Iran war?

National Security Are hacks of U.S. water facilities a new front in the Iran war? August 12, 20265:00 AM ET Jenna McLaughlin A water tower is seen on July 30 in Plymouth, Minn. A cyberattack targeted the operating technology at over 30 water systems in Minnesota, including Plymouth's late last month, state officials said. Ellen Schmidt/AP hide caption toggle caption Ellen Schmidt/AP On a recent Monday morning in Braham, Minn., a local water operator made an unsettling discovery — the pump at the treatment plant wasn't working, threatening the flow of water to people's homes. While investigating the root cause, crews took the plant offline, and the city urged Braham's 1,700 or so residents to conserve water while they drew on a backup supply stored in a local tank. It only took a couple of hours for workers to restore the flow after taking manual control of the pump. The self-proclaimed homemade pie capital of Minnesota still hosted its annual Pie Day celebration at the Park Cafe just days later. Sponsor Message National Security Flushable wipes and Iran: Water treatment facility adds cyberattacks to worry list But what Braham officials quickly learned, after connecting with Minnesota state IT teams, was that they were not alone in the outages. The cause was a "coordinated cyberattack" against industrial technology nationwide, and cybersecurity experts and federal officials suspected Iran may be to blame. It's nothing new. Adversaries, including Iran, have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure for years, to steal data or cause disruptions. Once inside, they can ransom the data to make money or threaten access to and trust in critical resources, from water and power to transportation and their bank accounts. "Everything's connected to the internet in one way or another," Nate George, the mayor of Braham, told NPR in an interview. "It's not Braham in particular that's being targeted. It's the internet access points and the vulnerable technology," George, a U.S. A...