Russian hackers claim cyberattack on Tipton wastewater plant

TIPTON, Ind. — Russian hackers are claiming responsibility for a cybersecurity attack on a wastewater treatment plant in Tipton. Tipton Municipal Utilities says the water supply was never compromised.

Utility General Manager Jim Ankrum said the Tipton West Wastewater Treatment Plant was the target of the cyberattack the night of Friday, April 19. But Ankrum said the attack caused minimal disruption to the operation of the plant.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued the following statement on the incident:

“Over the weekend, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management was notified of a possible cybersecurity breach at the Tipton West Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility’s staff noticed irregular activity through standard process monitoring of plant operations. Facility staff quickly transitioned operations to manual control during the event.

At no point did the wastewater treatment system have any adverse treatment issues. Additionally, Tipton’s main treatment plant and drinking water plant were not impacted.

IDEM applauds the quick work of plant managers to secure the facility and continue safe operations.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management remain in regular contact with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in a collaborative, strategic effort to protect public water supplies and other existing infrastructure.

State and federal agencies continue to monitor the landscape of cyber security threats and provide best practice information to plant operators to ensure defense against external interference.”

A social media post from the “People’s Cyber Army of Russia” claims responsibility for the attack and hints of further action against Indiana utilities.

“Wow! Here in Tipton of all places. It’s crazy,” said Connie McLearran as she picked up food from the South Pole ice cream shop.

The South Pole scoops up 32 flavors of ice cream and is known for its homemade coney sauce. The shop uses lots of Tipton water, from the ice in the drinks to the filtered water in the ice cream scoop dipping well.

“I didn’t believe it when I heard about it,” said Chloe Brock, who works at the South Pole. “Nobody on the map even knows about Tipton. So, when you hear about something like that happening, it’s crazy.”

“You always got somebody that wants to use technology the wrong way to hurt you,” said Tom Stacey, another Tipton resident. “That’s just the way it is.”

Tipton Municipal Utilities referred me to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as the incident is now under investigation. A message from that agency referred my questions back to the utility.

Last month, the White House issued a warning that local water systems are extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks.