The Paris wastewater agency allegedly sustained a cyberattack

The Paris wastewater agency, the Service public de l’assainissement francilien (SIAAP), responsible for managing wastewater for approximately nine million residents in and around the country, faces a recent cyberattack.

The attack could significantly impact many individuals since this government sector oversees an extensive network of nearly 275 miles of pipes across four French departments.

Researchers uncovered the incident last week when the organisation reported and complained to the judicial police and the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty after detecting the cyber intrusion.

Authorities have taken immediate action and tirelessly worked since Wednesday to secure industrial systems and isolate the affected connections to prevent the attack’s spread on the entire network.

 

Officials from the Paris wastewater agency emphasised that they are still maintaining the operations of the public sanitation service.

 

According to a statement from the Paris Wastewater Agency, they have deployed a dedicated crisis unit to address the situation and support the agency’s workforce despite the challenging working conditions caused by the cyberattack.

The government issued an emergency order to tackle the situation, granting officials the authority to employ external cybersecurity providers and acquire the necessary system recovery and restoration equipment.

There is yet a hacking group claiming responsibility for the attack. Still, the incident raises concerns since water authorities globally have become prime targets for ransomware gangs seeking to exploit critical services and sensitive customer information.

On the other hand, this event is not an isolated incident since it follows a series of cyberattacks on water utilities worldwide. The previous water management-related entities that suffered a cyberattack include an Italian company in May and the water utility of Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city.

Notably, South Staffordshire Water in England suffered severe damage from a ransomware attack in August last year. In addition, Puerto Rico’s water supply agency contacted the FBI in March to aid them in counteracting a ransomware attack.

Currently, the Greater Paris wastewater agency manages the aftermath of this cyber-attack. This incident is a reminder that essential infrastructure systems are the prime targets of malicious hackers. Therefore, these agencies need a more potent cybersecurity measure to mitigate or prevent such attacks.