Almost 37K impacted by Iowa utility ransomware attack

Iowa-based water, electricity, and internet service provider Muscatine Power and Water had data from 36,995 of the town's over 50,000 residents compromised following a ransomware attack in late January, which no threat operation has since claimed, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Attackers infiltrated Muscatine Power and Water's corporate network environment and obtained access to individuals' names and Social Security numbers, as well as their customer proprietary network information associated with their telephone service subscriptions, said the utility in breach notification letters. While there has been no evidence suggesting any identity theft stemming from the incident, impacted individuals are being given free credit monitoring services for a year. Such a development comes weeks after the utility disclosed that the attack resulted not only in an eight-hour-long interruption of internet services but also a days-long disruption of business services even though no critical controls systems were affected.