Posts Tagged ‘critical infrastructure’
States And Congress Wrestle With Cybersecurity At Water Utilities Amid Renewed Federal Warnings
The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack. It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the new $18.5 million one it is building. Then it — along with several…
Read MoreColorado man sentenced in Nevada power plant fire initially described as terror attack
A Colorado man was sentenced Wednesday to prison in Nevada following his arrest last January for setting his car afire at a remote facility in what authorities initially characterized as a terror attack on the electric system serving several Las Vegas Strip casinos. Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, 35, was sentenced to two to 10 years following…
Read MoreFirst of two defendants sentenced to prison for Christmas Day 2022 attack on power substations
One of two Pierce County men who vandalized electrical substations as part of a burglary scheme, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, to 18 months in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jeremy Crahan, 40, pleaded guilty in September 2023, admitting he joined co-defendant Matthew Greenwood in a conspiracy to…
Read MoreMunicipal Water Authority of Aliquippa hacked by Iranian-backed cyber group
The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa said on Saturday that one of their booster stations had been hacked by an Iranian-backed cyber group. Matthew Mottes, the chairman of the board of directors for the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, confirmed to KDKA-TV that the cyber group, known as Cyber Av3ngers, took control of one of…
Read MoreEngineer Indicted for Bombing Energy Facilities in California
Peter Karasev, 36, a U.S. citizen residing in San Jose, was arraigned in the Northern District of California today on an indictment charging him with destroying energy facilities and using fire or explosives to commit a federal crime. According to court documents, Karasev was indicted on Oct. 19. As alleged in counts one and two…
Read MorePolice investigating incident at South Carolina nuclear plant after car drives through security fences
Police in South Carolina are investigating an incident involving a vehicle that drove through security fences at a nuclear power station on Thursday. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is now in the early stages of an investigation into an incident that occurred earlier this evening at the Oconee Nuclear Station when the E-911/Communications Center received…
Read MoreFinland convicts 3 far-right men for plotting racially motivated attacks
Three Finnish men who embraced neo-Nazi ideology were found guilty Tuesday of committing crimes with terrorist intent including plotting attacks against migrants, critical infrastructure, and their perceived political opponents. The Paijat-Hame District Court sentenced the main suspect, Viljam Lauri Antero Nyman, to three years and four months in prison on charges of aggravated firearms offences…
Read MoreFederal Jury Convicts Man of Detonating Pipe Bomb at Suburban Chicago Train Station
A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a man of detonating a pipe bomb at a suburban Chicago train station. On Sept. 1, 2006, THOMAS JAMES ZAJAC placed a pipe bomb in a trash can at the BNSF Railway station in Hinsdale, Ill. The device exploded during the morning commute, causing damage inside the station…
Read MoreIdaho Man Indicted on Federal Charges for Shooting Power Stations at the Hells Canyon and Brownlee Dams
U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today that a federal grand jury in Boise returned an indictment charging Randy Scott Vail, 58, of Meridian, Idaho with two counts of destruction of an energy facility, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1366(a). The indictment alleges that on June 8, 2023, and continuing into June 9, 2023, Vail…
Read MoreChemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Expires as Senate Leaves for Summer Recess
On Thursday, the Senate concentrated on passing the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, working late to wrap up the reauthorization package before leaving town. The $886 billion legislation passed 86-11, and lawmakers subsequently left for the summer recess. They left for the break without first taking up House legislation to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism…
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