Cyber expert suggests American Water cyber incident was a ransomware attack

"If I had to speculate, I would say that American Water was potentially the victim of a ransomware event. The firm mentioned they shut down their billing systems, which points back to internal corporate backend systems. Given the large segment of water and wastewater treatment facilities that American Water covers, if control systems had been compromised, we'd likely be hearing about plants shutting down and advisories to boil water across states."

"The filing stated that it does not believe its drinking or wastewater facilities were negatively impacted by the intrusion, adding that it has taken precautions to protect its IT systems and data."

"American Water added that it had immediately brought in third-party security experts to help with the ongoing containment and mitigation process, reassuring affected customers that there would be no late charges or services shut off while the portal system remains offline."

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