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Pennsylvania water supply hacked: How utility companies are responding in Philadelphia region

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Pennsylvania water supply hacked: How utility companies are responding in Philadelphia region


PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There are discussions about safeguards after a cyber attack at a water plant in western Pennsylvania shut down a critical piece of technology.

Almost one week ago, the Iran-backed group “Cyber Av3ngers” claimed responsibility for a hack of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh.

According to CBS Pittsburgh, a computer screen that would normally display water pressure data suddenly shut down before a message appeared on its screen.

“You have been hacked. Down with Israel. Every equipment [sic] ‘made in Israel’ is Cyber Av3ngers legal target,” the message read.

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Images alongside the message included a Star of David, the symbol on the national flag of Israel, partially submerged in liquid.

The MWAA was able to take control of its systems and resume operations with no interruptions to service. But the attack sent alarm bells all the way to Washington, with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security now investigating the attack.

“The attacks are constant and there are nonstop,” Philip Ichinaga said. “So this might be state-sponsored hacking but there’s hacking going on every day, with every organization.”

Ichinaga is the Chief Information Security Officer at Saint Joe’s University. CBS News Philadelphia contacted him about the cyberattack asking what more could be done.

“Patching for security vulnerabilities or hardware, firmware vulnerabilities,” he said. “Having a branch firewall or VPN in place, a virtual private network, so you’re not directly connected to the internet, your resources,” he said.

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Three Democratic members of Congress from Pennsylvania have now asked the Department of Justice to investigate the cyberattack. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey joined Rep. Chris DeLuzio, who represents Aliquippa and the surrounding suburbs in the House, to pen a letter to the U.S. Attorney General.

“We know that nation-state adversaries are targeting the weakest link in America’s critical infrastructure,” the three wrote. “We must ensure that our state and local governments, along with private companies, have cyber-defenses strong enough to fend off attacks from sophisticated actors.”

READ MORE from KDKA: Pennsylvania lawmakers call for action after cyberattack on Aliquippa water system

In response to questions from CBS News Philadelphia, local companies say they are keeping their systems safe.

Here’s what American Water, which serves parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, said in a statement:

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“American Water has a dedicated team of certified professionals who help maintain the cybersecurity of our informational and operational technology systems, safeguard the physical security of our staff, facilities and assets, and provide emergency response…”

And here’s a response from the Philadelphia Water Department: 

“As standard security practice for PWD, we constantly evaluate our systems for vulnerabilities based on current industry standards. The PWD has not identified any systems that use the software and devices targeted in the Aliquippa cyberattack.”

Our experts caution while some of these attack groups are sophisticated, others are not as savvy.

Still, they said utilities and other businesses need to take all the necessary precautions to firewall their systems.

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Bill to ensure access to contraception advances in Pennsylvania, aided by dozens of GOP House votes

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Bill to ensure access to contraception advances in Pennsylvania, aided by dozens of GOP House votes


Planned Parenthood PA Advocates executive director Signe Espinoza called the proposal “an enormous shift toward control over our bodies.”

“We must have control over if and when we decide to start our families, but Pennsylvania has for too long allowed loopholes, exemptions and oversights to stand between us and our autonomy,” Espinoza said in a statement.

Rep. Krueger said in an interview Monday that she also was concerned about Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion access two years ago. Thomas wrote that the Supreme Court “should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” including cases that found married people have the right to obtain contraceptives, people can engage in private, consensual sex acts and the right to same-sex marriage.

A state law could help people obtain contraceptives if federal law changes, Krueger said.

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“We have seen that access to reproductive health care, including contraception, is coming down to a state’s rights issue,” Krueger said.

In other states, contraception has been a politically contentious issue. A review earlier this month by the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion access, found several states have proposed or enacted laws to reduce access to contraception this year.

KFF, a nonprofit that studies health care issues, said in May that 14 states have legal or constitutional protections for the right to contraception, with six states and Washington, D.C., enacting them since the high court’s decision on abortion in June 2022.



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Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d

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Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d


A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman drowned after being swept over a waterfall on the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana, park officials said.

National Park Service officials on Tuesday identified the victim as Gillian Tones from North Apollo in western Pennsylvania’s Armstrong County. She was remembered as caring and kind, triblive.com reported.

Tones fell into the water above St. Mary Falls at around 5:20 p.m. Sunday. She was washed over the 35-foot (11-meter) tall waterfall and trapped under water for several minutes, the park said in a statement.

Bystanders pulled Tones from the water and administered CPR until emergency responders arrived. She was declared dead at 7 p.m., park officials said.

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The death is under investigation, and an autopsy was planned.

Her name was initially withheld until family members could be notified.

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service.

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Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT

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Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT


RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Conestoga Road in Radnor Township will have a weekday closure due to Aqua Pennsylvania work for about two months, PennDOT said.

According to PennDOT, a weekday closure is scheduled on Conestoga Road between Lowrys Lane and Glenbrook Avenue in Radnor.

The closure will be in place weekdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, July 1 to Friday, Aug. 30,

During the closure, drivers will be detoured, using Sproul Road/Route 320, Lancaster Avenue/U.S. 30, and County Line Road.

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Local access will be maintained up to the work zone.

Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling through or near the work area because backups and delays will occur.

All scheduled activities are weather dependent.



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