Ransomware intrusion compromises North Dakota water treatment facility

North Dakota's Minot Water Treatment Plant, which serves roughly 80,000 people in Minot and surrounding communities, had its SCADA system impacted by a ransomware attack on Mar. 14, which forced operators to revert to manual gauge readings for about 16 hours before a replacement server could be installed, according to StateScoop.

City officials confirmed the water supply remained safe throughout the incident. The ransom note found on the compromised server did not contain a dollar figure, and the city did not pay. Communications manager Jennifer Kleen said staff normally perform manual readings anyway, but more frequent checks were required while the dashboard system was offline. The city is nearly complete with technical recovery, using an older server while preparing a new one. Minot City Manager Tom Joyce said he wished he had activated a crisis action team sooner to align communications.

Water utilities have been frequent cyber targets, with a 2024 EPA report showing critical or high-risk vulnerabilities in 97 of more than 1,000 drinking water systems.