US agencies have warned that Iranian hackers are targeting US critical infrastructure

The US government warns that Iranian-backed hackers are escalating their tactics by targeting US critical infrastructure systems with the goal of causing disruption.

in Joint consulting The FBI, the National Security Agency, the US Cybersecurity Agency and the US Department of Energy warned on Tuesday that Iranian government hackers are exploiting cyber-facing systems used in a range of sectors. These include water, wastewater, energy, and local government utilities. The agencies did not specifically name any of the targets, but said the hacks were intended to cause “disruptive effects within the United States” and had already resulted in “operational disruption and financial loss.”

The agencies said the hackers targeted programmable logic controllers and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) products, which are used to control and manage industrial equipment and systems in critical infrastructure operations. The agencies said the hackers were able to manipulate the information displayed on these devices, and maliciously interact with project files that store important device configurations.

The agencies said the hacks targeting critical infrastructure represent a marked escalation in Iranian hackers’ tactics, likely in response to the US-Israel war with Iran, which began on February 28 with air strikes that killed the country’s leader.

This advice also comes shortly after US President Trump threatened Iran Social media sharing Earlier Tuesday, he wrote: “An entire civilization will die tonight.” Iran does not surrender An agreement was reached with the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz, a major passage for global shipping traffic, by the end of the day.

Since the beginning of the war, A An Iranian government-backed hacking group called Hanzala It has been linked to several high-profile cyberattacks, including the disruptive hack of US medical technology giant Stryker, which saw hackers infiltrate Scan thousands of employee devices remotely Using the company’s security tools.

The FBI recently blamed the Hanzala hackers To leak partial contents From the private email account of FBI Director Kash Patel.

Iran also struck several US-owned and operated data centers across the region With missiles and air strikesCausing instability and disruption of cloud services across the region.