US offers $10 million for info on Iranian leaders behind CyberAv3ngers water utility attacks
The US offered $10 million for information on six IRGC-CEC officials behind CyberAv3ngers' 2023 hacks of Unitronics PLCs at US water utilities.
The State Department named six Iranian security officials, including IRGC Cyber-Electronic Command head Hamid Reza Lashgarian, and offered up to $10 million for information on their whereabouts. CyberAv3ngers publicly claimed compromises of Israel-made Unitronics Vision PLCs in October 2023, forcing the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, to take systems offline and switch to manual operations. The US had sanctioned the six men in February for targeting critical infrastructure, and CISA notified water operators using Unitronics devices while urging default-password changes. A watchdog also criticized the EPA for lacking a comprehensive water-sector cyber risk strategy.