Cape May, Woodbine targeted in New Jersey water system hack
CAPE MAY, New Jersey — Officials in Cape May County, New Jersey are confirming a hack on its water system.
The City of Cape May Water and Sewer Department and the Borough of Woodbine Water Department were both impacted last week.
While there were no reported disruptions to service, Cape May Mayor Zach Mullock says they are working to understand the scope of the incident.
In a statement, officials said the hack did not interfere with the safety of the public drinking water in either municipality.
“Water treatment, water supply, and monitoring systems continue to operate safely, and routine testing confirms that the water supply remains safe,” a statement said.
No personal information or customer data was accessed or compromised as a result of this incident, county officials added.
The first alert was received around 1:30 a.m., Monday, July 27. By 2:30 a.m., staff arrived to troubleshoot issues which first appeared to be a loss of power.
“Most of our systems in both Woodbine and Cape May are not automated; it’s not online and really saved us,” Mullock said. “The water was never affected and was not affected. It is completely safe.”
The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell is working alongside the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency about this hack.
“We are taking every effort to protect and defend our water supply and production. We supply water to the City of Cape May, West Cape May, Lower Township, Cape May Point, and the United States’ only Coast Guard Training Center located in Cape May City,” Mullock said. “We are working with state and federal agencies to ensure our water desalination plant is protected from any adversarial threat.”
Authorities in nearly a dozen states have all faced similar attacks.
So far, it appears nobody has become sick, and there have been no widespread disruptions to water supplies.
Sources said Iran remains the prime suspect, perhaps showing how it could retaliate as President Donald Trump threatens to escalate the war.
Officials are also assessing whether this could be the work of a different state actor mimicking Iran’s tactics in a possible attempt to influence what the U.S. does next.
In Cape May’s case, officials say their system has since been secured with strengthened access controls.
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