Texas

Tiny Texas City Repels Russia-Tied Hackers Eyeing Water System

Published

4 weeks ago

April 22, 2024

Tiny Texas City Repels Russia-Tied Hackers Eyeing Water System

When Mike Cypert got the call that utilities in remote Texas communities were being hacked, he raced across his office to unplug the computer that ran his city’s water system.

Hale Center is a dusty, cotton-growing burg of 2,000 about five hours drive northwest of Dallas. After the alert from a software vendor in January, Cypert, the city manager, said he found thousands of attempts to breach Hale Center’s firewall, some coming from an internet address that traced back to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Within minutes of the discovery, Cypert said he reported the episode to agents from the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security, who were already looking into related incidents in nearby Texas towns. One of the hacks caused a water tank in another city to overflow.

The attacks in Texas are the latest example of hackers — some of them tied to US adversaries — targeting America’s sprawling network of water utilities. In November, an Iranian-backed group attacked Israeli-made digital controls commonly used in the water and wastewater industries in the US, affecting organizations across several states. That same month, the North Texas Municipal Water District, which supplies water to more than 2 million customers, was the victim of a ransomware attacks.

Chinese state-sponsored hackers also attacked a water utility in Hawaii, the Washington Post reported in December.

“The water sector is poorly resourced and is under siege from three fronts. This is now Iran, China and Russia,” said John Hultquist, chief analyst at Mandiant Intelligence.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment. The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read More: Iranian-Linked Hacks Expose Failure to Safeguard US Water System

Researchers at Mandiant, a unit of Google Cloud, found potential connections between the attacks on water utilities in Texas and one of Russia’s most notorious hacking groups, known as Sandworm. The group has been accused of repeatedly turning out the lights in Ukraine and hacking the 2018 Olympics Opening Games in South Korea. The US government says it is part of Russia’s military spy agency, but the ties between Sandworm and the Texas attacks are less than certain. “We’ve never seen them cross the line in the US like this before,” Hultquist said.

Among the other victims of the recent hacks was the city of Muleshoe, a 5,000-person community in northwest Texas. A resident called the city on January 18 to report a water tank overflowing. City staff found that they’d largely lost control of the system, took it offline and called the company that provides Muleshoe’s industrial control software, City Manager Ramon Sanchez said at a public meeting the next month that was covered by the Plainview Herald. The vendor told city officials that other area communities were seeing similar problems, Sanchez said at the meeting.

Sanchez didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

That same day, a social media account called “CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn” posted a video that appears to show hackers manipulating Muleshoe’s industrial control system. Mandiant and other cybersecurity researchers believe Sandworm created and control CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn, which Hultquist described as a hacktivist persona. It’s possible that other cyber attackers are using its platforms, he said.

Andy Bennett, the chief technology officer of cybersecurity firm Apollo Information Systems, said there are various reasons why hackers might target small-town water systems. They could provide a “testing ground” for hacking tools intended for bigger targets, he said, or give foreign countries a way to scare Americans.

“Small-town America feels safe,” said Bennett, a former cybersecurity official for the state of Texas,”and if the water supply is in jeopardy, it undoes that.”

US intelligence officials are still debating whether Sandworm was involved in the Texas water utility breaches, according to people familiar with the situation who didn’t want to be named due to the sensitivities.

The Russian Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

US officials are especially worried about attacks by nation-state hackers on critical sectors of the US economy, like defense, dams, energy, financial services and water systems. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency dropped plans to require states to assess water facilities’ cyber defenses. Republican lawmakers in three states called the oversight illegal, accusing the EPA of overreach. The White House said it would work with Congress to beef up the environmental watchdog’s authority.

The attacks on Texas utilities targeted at least two other communities. In Abernathy, hackers entered through a virtual network connection, but city staff caught them within 30 seconds and cut off the attackers as they were trying to change passwords, City Manager Donald Provost told Bloomberg News. Lockney’s city manager, Buster Poling, Jr., said his staff also caught the attack early and that it “really did not affect the city.”

Hale Center’s Cypert said he learned that other towns had been attacked when the city’s industrial control software vendor called telling them to “lock down.” Hale Center uses the same vendor as Muleshoe and a handful of other area communities, he said.

When the warning came in, Cypert said he rushed to unplug the ethernet cable from the computer that operates the water system. Hale Center wasn’t breached, but Cypert said in reviewing its security, the city’s IT contractor found what appeared to be a brute force attempt to crack Hale Center’s firewall — 37,000 tries in four days.

The attempts on Hale Center’s firewall came from IP addresses around the world but one was repeated over and over, Cypert said. The investigation traced it back to St. Petersburg and the city’s industrial control vendor, Morgeson Consulting in Lubbock, quickly got Cypert on a conference call with FBI agents already investigating the Muleshoe attack, he said.

Morgeson Consulting’s owner didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Cypert said he later sent the FBI data from the attempts on its firewall. The city’s IT contractor, Ben Warren, also walked the investigators through some of the technical details, he said. The agents were impressed by Warren’s technical acumen and offered the city manager a piece of advice, Cypert recalled.

“Hang on to him,” they said, referring to Warren.

Topics
Cyber
Texas
Russia

Source link

Click to comment

Texas

Can indicted South Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar survive corruption charges?

Published

46 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Can indicted South Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar survive corruption charges?

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar insists he has no intention of stepping down since being indicted on federal charges accusing him of taking nearly $600,000 in bribes.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Cuellar told reporters asking if he was contemplating resignation after the indictment was announced May 3. “Everybody’s innocent until proven otherwise and we are going to continue doing our job.”

He stood by that position this week after it was revealed federal prosecutors have secured guilty pleas from three people in connection with the case against him. He and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, are accused of participating in schemes involving bribery, illegal foreign influence and money laundering. Cuellar denies the allegations.

The federal indictment alleges the Democrat from Laredo accepted almost $600,000 in bribes to advance the interests of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan and a bank in Mexico.

The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Former top Cuellar aide Colin Strother and political consultant Florencio Rendon are cooperating with the federal investigation, according to plea agreements filed in March.

Strother’s attorney declined comment. Rendon’s attorney said he could not immediately comment.

The Associated Press reported this week that a third person pleaded guilty May 1 in Houston federal court to acting as an agent for Azerbaijan without registering with federal officials.

CNN confronted Cuellar on Capitol Hill this week about the guilty pleas, but the Texan said he isn’t going anywhere.

“We’re not afraid of the truth,” said Cuellar, who is on the November ballot as he seeks an 11th two-year term.

Other politicians have won reelection with pending indictments, including Ken Paxton, Texas’ Republican attorney general.

Two Republicans, Jay Furman and Lazaro Garza Jr., are competing in a May 28 runoff to determine who will face Cuellar in November.

It is unclear how much Republicans will spend on the race, having seen challengers fall short in previous bids against the incumbent.

Cuellar faced a close call in the 2022 Democratic primary but won by 13.3 percentage points that November.

After the indictment was unsealed, the National Republican Congressional Committee pounced, calling for Cuellar’s fellow Democrats to push for his resignation. U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., did so, but he’s a striking exception.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Thursday he had not rescinded his endorsement of Cuellar and he wanted to give the Texan time and space to “work out his legal situation” without wading into politics.

“I support Henry Cuellar’s right to a trial by jury,” Jeffries said. “He is innocent until proven guilty.”

The George Santos precedent

The NRCC accused Democrats of hypocrisy for pressing to oust U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., over his own criminal charges.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, said it’s a sign of a healthy democracy when those in power are held to account. He pointed to an initial failed vote to kick out Santos, which Allred opposed, citing a lack of due process.

Allred joined others in voting for Santos’ successful expulsion on a subsequent vote, after the release of a scathing report by the Ethics Committee that cited “overwhelming evidence” Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes and committed other crimes.

There has been no such report on Cuellar.

“Due process still has to be observed,” Allred said.

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, noted Cuellar said he sought and received legal opinions from the Ethics Committee before taking actions cited in the indictment.

“As a criminal defense attorney, I always go with the presumption of innocence,” she said. “So I’m hoping for the best.”

Republicans not going after Cuellar

Many Republicans in Congress, including those from Texas, also are inclined to let the legal process play out for Cuellar, an occasional political ally.

After news of the indictment broke, several Texas Republicans cited Cuellar’s record of working on bipartisan measures and his penchant for breaking with his party over his opposition to abortion rights, support for tougher border security measures and other issues.

“I know Henry to be a really good man, and for whatever he’s going through, I feel sorry for him,” said U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park. “He’s well-liked. He’s a good man and he thinks a lot like conservatives do on certain issues.”

Williams said he has been Cuellar’s friend for many years and remains one, noting that he served as Texas secretary of state after Cuellar held the position.

U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, also called the Democrat a friend.

“I know they’ve been coming after him for a while,” Jackson said. “They come after him, in part, because he does on occasion vote with us.”

U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, called Cuellar a “great member to work with” on issues from energy to agriculture.

Across the Capitol, both Republican U.S. senators from Texas spoke positively about working with Cuellar on various issues.

Sen. Ted Cruz said the allegations are “serious” and “concerning,” but he also highlighted issues of agreement, such as streamlining approval of new U.S.-Mexico bridges across the Rio Grande and designating a new interstate corridor running from Laredo through West Texas.

“He has been a strong partner fighting for jobs in Texas, and together we’ve gotten a lot accomplished for the state,” Cruz said.

Cruz, who wrote a book accusing Democrats of “weaponizing” the justice system, said it’s fair to ask whether the case against Cuellar is politically motivated.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he’s enjoyed working with Cuellar and feels for him, but the matter is up to the courts.

“Henry has always been a bipartisan individual and he’s one of the very few pro-life [Democratic] House members and frankly, you know, you can see where he may be in disfavor by the current administration,” Cornyn said.

Source link

Texas

Arkansas Gets Revenge, Secures SEC West Over Texas A&M With Game 2 Victory

Published

8 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas Gets Revenge, Secures SEC West Over Texas A&M With Game 2 Victory

COLLEGE STATION — It took one inning Friday evening for the score between the Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks to exceed what it was in the series opener.

After a complete pitcher’s battle between both squads Thursday night amidst a rain delay, Game 2 of the SEC West showdown was seemingly going to be much simpler to complete. Weather wasn’t going to be at play and 7 p.m. CST was truly an accurate assessment for the game’s first pitch.

For the Aggies, Olsen Field was even more packed than it was the night before, setting them up to have an even better atmosphere as they looked to secure a series victory and keep themselves in contention for their half of the SEC. Arkansas had some ground to make up.

The thing was, it did.

The Razorbacks came out with their bats swinging, keeping the contest interesting on offense despite allowing some true — that is, non-walking — points on defense. In the end, they got the best of their hosts, rallying behind a three-run home run from junior Hudson White to put themselves in front and take control of the momentum, ultimately notching a 6-3 road victory.

May 17, 2024; College Station, Texas; USA: Texas A&M Aggies seniors Ryan Targac talks to freshman Caden Sorrell at first base. / Matt Guzman – AllAggies on SI

From the jump, the Aggies — starting Brad Rudis instead of the anticipated Justin Lamkin — started off on a positive note. They registered a strikeout and two flyouts to end their defensive portion of the first inning rather quickly before scoring two runs in the bottom half behind Braden Montgomery’s 25th home run of the season, which put them up 2-0.

From there, the Razorbacks began chipping away at the lead, notching two one-run innings in the second and third to tie the game up headed to the fourth. Where Game 1 was a pitching battle, Game 2 was shaping up to be a battle of the bats. And that continued.

Texas A&M added another run to its total in the bottom of the fourth after Gavin Grahovac doubled on the first pitch he was thrown. From there, Jace LaViolette singled to right field with enough distance to bring in Grahovac. That run signaled the bubbles across Blue Bell Park and gave the Aggies the lead once more, but unfortunately for them, it was the last run they would score that night.

May 17, 2024; College Station, Texas; USA: Texas A&M Aggies senior Ted Burton awaits a pitch in the sixth inning. / Matt Guzman – AllAggies on SI

The fifth and sixth innings saw little action besides Arkansas’ methodical base approach. After a single from Ben McLaughlin brought in Peyton Stovall — who singled on his at-bat — to tie the game at three runs a piece, the Razorbacks stalled out before being able to run up the score anymore.

Three runs each was how the scoreboard held for the remainder of the sixth and through the seventh, but the eighth inning was where the most action happened all game.

Stovall ended up being the lead-off single on his second pitch of the at-bat, which Wehiwa Aloy followed with a double. Stovall moved to third, but it didn’t matter. Hudson White came to bat and hit a home run to deep left field to both double the Aggies’ score and his team’s chances at a win.

Texas A&M made nothing of its eighth-inning offensive, and Arkansas followed suit at the top of the ninth. After that third out, the Aggies’ War Hymm played and the entire upper deck of fans got on their feet to watch the final three outs of the ball game.

Ali Camarillo led things off, striking out looking after a full count, followed by Sorrell, who never landed a ball as he grounded out to Arkansas’ shortstop. Travis Chesnut — batting bottom of the Aggies’ order — was his team’s last chance, but couldn’t get the job done, flying out to left field to give the Razorbacks a 6-3 win on the road.

With the loss, the Texas A&M Aggies fall two games behind the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC West standings with just one game left to play at 18-11, which officially ousts them from contention for the conference title.

Next up for both squads is one more matchup at Olsen Field with the series on the line. The winner there will certainly put themselves in a solid position to land a top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

First pitch for Game 3 is scheduled for 2 p.m. CST Saturday afternoon.

Source link