U.S. government sanctions Iranian officials over Pennsylvania water facility hack | CyberScoop<\/title> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. government sanctions Iranian officials over Pennsylvania water facility hack\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Iranian attack targeted a device manufactured by an Israeli company.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-02T18:00:07+00:00\"> <meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-02T18:00:08+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" 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fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"24.31715210356\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"28.734693877551\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/geopolitics\/\"> <span>Geopolitics<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> The Iranian attack targeted a device manufactured by an Israeli company. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> The US Treasury building in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2022. (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"30.073170731707\"><body readability=\"61.134728033473\"><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against a half dozen Iranian government officials for their role in targeting devices at a Pennsylvania water utility in November 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Working behind a flimsy persona \u2014 the \u201cCyber Av3ngers\u201d \u2014 the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) targeted programmable logic controllers manufactured by Unitronics, an Israeli company, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-iran\/\">including one at a water utility in Aliquippa, Pa.<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy2072\">Treasury Department said<\/a> in its announcement.<\/p>\n<p>The hackers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pittsburgh\/news\/municipal-water-authority-of-aliquippa-hacked-iranian-backed-cyber-group\/\">posted a message<\/a> to the screen of the device warning that \u201cevery equipment made in Israel is Cyber Av3ngers legal target.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The incident did not cause any impact to the safety of the facility or drinking water in the area, authorities said at the time. Nevertheless, \u201cunauthorized access to critical infrastructure systems can enable actions that harm the public and cause devastating humanitarian consequences,\u201d the Treasury statement said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Shortly after the incident, private industry analysts and others identified the attack as the work of the IRGC, given connections to previously identified hacking campaigns, the targeting, and other non-public information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ultimate purpose of these hacks is to scare us and attack our trust in our own basic safety,\u201d said John Hultquist, chief analyst with Google\u2019s Mandiant Intelligence. \u201cUnfortunately, they can be effective even when they fail to disrupt the services they target, which this actor knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hultquist said the water sector \u201chas been under enormous pressure lately from Russian, Iranian, and Chinese cyber actors who recognize it as a vulnerable critical infrastructure. We have to take the threats to water seriously, but we can\u2019t forget that the adversary\u2019s primary goal is psychological.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This particular operation was part of the long-running <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/hack-and-leak-group-black-shadow-keeps-targeting-israeli-victims\/\">cyber tit-for-tat<\/a> between Iran and Israel, an Israeli cybersecurity expert told CyberScoop at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Friday\u2019s sanctions targeted Hamid Reza Lashgarian, the head of the IRGC-CEC and a commander in the IRGC-Qods Force, and five other senior IRGC-CEC officials: Mahdi Lashgarian, Hamid Homayunfal, Milad Mansuri, Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar and Reza Mohammad Amin Saberian.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cyber Av3ngers persona remains active on Telegram and promised new attacks as recently as mid-January.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"1.1716738197425\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"AJ Vicens\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by AJ Vicens<\/h4>\n<p> AJ covers nation-state threats and cybercrime. He was previously a reporter at Mother Jones. Get in touch via Signal\/WhatsApp: (810-206-9411). <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 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{"id":2469,"date":"2024-02-02T18:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=79039"},"modified":"2024-02-02T18:00:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T18:00:07","slug":"u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/02\/u-s-government-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-pennsylvania-water-facility-hack\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. government sanctions Iranian officials over Pennsylvania water facility hack"},"content":{"rendered":"