Hackers regularly probe Maine water utilities, officials say
Maine public water and wastewater systems have dodged a string of infrastructure cyberattacks linked by federal authorities to Iran, but local operators are fending off digital probes on a near-daily basis, according to industry leaders.
Ed Molleo, the executive director of the Maine Water Utilities Association, said phishing emails and AI-driven tools and scanners are constantly testing Maine infrastructure for vulnerabilities, from small networks serving rural Maine to large systems serving its biggest cities.
“People are probing the water systems and wastewater systems across our entire state every single day of the week,” Molleo said. “I don’t know of a system that’s not taking cybersecurity extremely seriously at this point.”
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These daily scans use automated software to look for internet-connected controllers — the devices that manage water pressure, tank levels and chemical dosing. According to Molleo, these exact controllers were targeted in the recent attack across seven states.
Typical exploitable vulnerabilities include open ports or factory-default passwords, Molleo said.
To counter this, many Maine utilities are completely isolating critical equipment from the public internet, he said. But “air-gapped” systems require network operators to be physically present at pump stations to make operational adjustments.
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However, maintaining robust cybersecurity comes at a time when local utilities face a worsening financial crunch, Molleo said. Maine’s lower population density means fewer ratepayers per mile of pipe to absorb operational costs.
Many of the nation’s 50,000 public water systems remain vulnerable due to a lack of funds and dedicated cybersecurity personnel, according to federal regulators who testified before Congress in May. Municipal systems must often prioritize pipe repairs over digital security.
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Compounding the problem, federal pass-through money for Maine’s revolving drinking water fund is set to plummet from $12 million to $4 million next year, Molleo said, which is enough to fund the state drinking water program itself but leaves nothing for local utility projects.
That leaves Maine water utilities struggling to balance cybersecurity upgrades against emergency physical repairs, such as replacing aging pipes or mitigating forever chemical contamination, said Molleo. And it leaves ratepayers on the hook for all of this work.
To address the funding gap, Molleo’s association is planning an investment forum for regulators, utility leaders and public advocates this fall. “Cyber hygiene has become as fundamental to protecting public health as making sure the chemicals keep the water safe,” he said.
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Tagged: cybersecurity, environmental health, infrastructure, water pollution
Penny is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and. More by Penelope Overton
