Iranian hackers take credit for breaching New York dam

Iranian hackers are claiming credit for infiltrating a small New York dam in 2013, NBC News reported.

The group, SOBH Cyber Jihad, claimed responsibility through another Iran-linked hacker group, Parastoo, vowing to release proof it was behind the attack.

{mosads}According to investigators, the digital intruders cracked the network and were probing the dam’s defenses, but did not hijack the entire system.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the intrusion into the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye Brook, N.Y., just north of New York City, earlier this week.

SOBH Cyber Jihad said the group refrained from going public about the intrusion for two years because of a “state-level” warning to keep quiet “for the greater good.”

On Twitter, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he was “calling on [the Department of Homeland Security] to investigate & find all infrastructure vulnerabilities after Iranian hack.”

“This cyber attack surely serves as a bucket of ice water to the face,” he said during a Wednesday press conference, according to NBC.

“There are larger dams, there are public utilities, there are nuclear power plants,” he added. “We don’t know how many attacks like this have been attempted. Is it just the tip of the iceberg?”

The dam hack has become one of the most discreet examples of the widespread digital vulnerabilities of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Security experts warn that the companies supporting this infrastructure are aware of the threats, but scrambling to play catch-up, leaving vital systems like the power grid exposed to hackers.

It’s believed the New York dam intrusions were part of a rash of cyberattacks that Iranian-linked hackers launched during 2012 and 2013 on the U.S. financial system and other critical sectors of the U.S. economy.

U.S. officials have long warned that several digital adversaries have been probing U.S. critical infrastructure networks for vulnerabilities.

In addition to Iran, China and Russia have also been suspected of conducting extensive campaigns to suss out possible digital weaknesses of vital networks, such as the power grid.