--- title: What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems | TIME description: Malicious cyber activity has affected technology at water systems in at least seven states last week, forcing some facilities to switch to manual operations and prompting the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to warn facilities nationwide of hackers. canonical: https://time.com/video/4FuHyPr2/ og:title: What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems og:description: Malicious cyber activity has affected technology at water systems in at least seven states last week, forcing some facilities to switch to manual operations and prompting the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to warn facilities nationwide of hackers. og:url: https://time.com/video/4FuHyPr2/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4FuHyPr2/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems twitter:description: Malicious cyber activity has affected technology at water systems in at least seven states last week, forcing some facilities to switch to manual operations and prompting the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to warn facilities nationwide of hackers. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4FuHyPr2/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * World # What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems [Watch (HLS stream): What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4FuHyPr2.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2026-08-06. Malicious cyber activity has affected technology at water systems in at least seven states last week, forcing some facilities to switch to manual operations and prompting the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to warn facilities nationwide of hackers._ --- Aug 6, 2026 4:49 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Brian Kemp Resigns as Secretary of State After Claiming Victory in Georgia Governor's Race](/video/O83xvFxB/) ### Brian Kemp Resigns as Secretary of State After Claiming Victory in Georgia Governor's Race [Georgia's Secretary of State Is Blocking 53,000 Voter Registrations as He Runs for Governor](/video/5RLwC9e5/) ### Georgia's Secretary of State Is Blocking 53,000 Voter Registrations as He Runs for Governor [Hackers Targeted Voter Registration Systems in 20 States](/video/O1PHcTX1/) ### Hackers Targeted Voter Registration Systems in 20 States --- ## Transcript American water systems are facing a new wave of cyber threats. The FBI says hackers targeted water systems in seven states, just days after authorities warned about ongoing Iranian cyber activity targeting U.S. infrastructure. Here's what these cyber attacks mean for your drinking water and who may be behind them in one minute. Officials in Minnesota said that at least 30 municipal water facilities were targeted last week, and Michigan authorities said nine of their facilities were hit, too. These hackers were remotely accessing internet connected controls and locking administrators out while causing flooding and pressure loss, which could potentially allow untreated groundwater to seep into pipes. Luckily, state officials said that the scope of these attacks have been limited and Americans drinking water has not been affected. However, water systems are responsible for our clean drinking water, and the EPA has warned in recent years that a significant number of them have high risk vulnerabilities, like outdated software. It's not clear who's actually behind these latest attacks or if they're likely to continue. But on July 22nd, the FBI warned of heightened Iranian cyber threats. And then a few days later, these attacks occurred. The timing quickly drew attention to the potential of Iranian involvement, especially in light of heightening tensions with the U.S. and in light of a similar cyber attack on a water facility in Pittsburgh in 2023. If it is Iran, the message is clear, experts tell time. If the U.S. strikes critical infrastructure in Iran, then Iran will take the fight to U.S. soil through its cyber capabilities. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What to know about the cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems","description":"Malicious cyber activity has affected technology at water systems in at least seven states last week, forcing some facilities to switch to manual operations and prompting the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to warn facilities nationwide of hackers. ","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4FuHyPr2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-08-06T16:45:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4FuHyPr2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/4FuHyPr2/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/4FuHyPr2/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```