‘Unhealthy’ air quality expected in eastern Minnesota through Monday afternoon due to wildfire smoke

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

State technology officials say more than 30 Minnesota municipal water systems were targeted in a 

In at least one case, a city’s well and treatment plant were temporarily knocked offline Monday. Other cities reported that the attack targeted communications and automated operations within their water system — forcing a move to manual workarounds.

The attack prompted Minnesota IT Services to activate a statewide cybersecurity incident response involving local, state and federal agencies. Authorities did not say whether they know who is responsible for the cyberattack and did not elaborate on a possible motive.

Officials said water in the affected cities remains safe to drink.

“MNIT is working side by side with our partners to share intelligence, support affected communities, and help utilities restore operations safely while strengthening defenses against future attacks,” John Israel, MNIT’s assistant commissioner and the state’s chief information security officer, said in a news release Tuesday.

“This incident demonstrates why Minnesota has invested in strong cybersecurity capabilities and partnerships. Our response worked as intended, enabling agencies at every level of government to rapidly coordinate, contain the incident, and help prevent more serious impacts to critical services,” Israel said.

 that the attack targeted the computerized operating systems for its well and water treatment plant, causing them to shut down for part of Monday.

“This attack did not alter or cause any issue to the physical water plant or water quality or safety,” city officials reported.

The cities of Maple Plain, Plymouth and South St. Paul reported issues with automated controls and communications for their water systems.

“The issue is limited to equipment connected via cellular communications within the system, and crews have continued operating as normal through manual procedures,” the 

State officials did not say which other cities were targeted in the cyberattack.

Other local governments around the state have been targeted by cyberattacks in recent years, including the 

Minnesota News

Crime, Law and Justice

Environmental News

Water

Technology

NewsPartners

Homepage

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Author

Andrew Krueger

The attack prompted Minnesota IT Services to activate a statewide cybersecurity incident response involving local, state and federal agencies. Authorities did not say whether they know who is responsible for the cyberattack, and did not elaborate on a possible motive.

A water tower with the name "Maple Plain" painted on it

Andrew Krueger | MPR News

A water tower with the name "Braham" painted on it

Cyberattack targets Minnesota cities' water systems

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox