Rep. Mike Turner urges stronger defenses as cyber probe hits water systems

In Minnesota, state IT officials disclosed a coordinated cyberattack affecting more than 30 local and community water systems, and some utilities shifted to manual operations while authorities examined what happened. Rep. Mike Turner said critical infrastructure assets “need to be hardened” as investigators probe whether Iranian hackers were behind malicious cyber activity that disrupted water-system technology in multiple U.S. states.

Hackers are increasingly targeting water utilities. The FBI has warned of cyberattacks on municipal water systems in seven states. Water plants depend on operational technology that can be disrupted even when drinking water itself is not immediately contaminated.

Turner, an Ohio Republican, told Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation that the country has to do more to protect systems that residents rely on every day, from local water plants to other critical networks that keep public services running.

President Donald Trump said Iran was not to blame for the Minnesota cyberattack, even as officials continued to examine whether Iranian hackers were behind the activity.

A 2024 warning from U.S. authorities said hackers were carrying out disruptive attacks on water systems, and a Congressional Research Service report on cybersecurity of the municipal water sector identified longstanding vulnerabilities, especially in operational technology. A 2012 House Committee on Homeland Security hearing focused on the Iranian cyber threat to the U.S. homeland and on protecting electricity, water and wastewater infrastructure.