Russia-linked hacking group suspected of carrying out cyberattack on Texas water facility, cybersecurity firm says

A hacking group with ties to the Russian government is suspected of carrying out a cyberattack in January that caused a tank at a Texas water facility to overflow, experts from US cybersecurity firm Mandiant said Wednesday.

The hack in the small town of Muleshoe, in north Texas, coincided with at least two other towns in north Texas taking precautionary defensive measures after detecting suspicious cyber activity on their networks, town officials told CNN. The FBI has been investigating the hacking activity, one of the officials said.

The attack was a rare example of hackers using access to sensitive industrial equipment to disrupt regular operations at a US water facility, following a separate cyberattack last November on a Pennsylvania water plant that US officials blamed on Iran.

Read more: CNN