The Indiana American Water storage tank along Jefferson Street is seen Feb. 29 in Franklin. The utility and its parent company were victims of a cyberattack.
Daily Journal File Photo
Indiana American Water and its parent company were victims of a cyber attack, utility officials say.
New Jersey-based American Water, the largest water utility in the United States, announced Monday they had learned of unauthorized activity in their computer networks and systems, which took place on Thursday. The utility — which provides services to more than 14 million people in 14 states and on 18 military installations — determined the activity to be the result of a cybersecurity incident, according to a Frequently Asked Questions page on their website.
All American Water affiliates are part of the cybersecurity incident, including Greenwood-based Indiana American Water, said Joel Reuter, an IAW spokesperson. The Indiana subsidiary serves 1.4 million customers in over 50 communities in the state — including Franklin and Greenwood. New Whiteland and Whiteland buy water from IAW in bulk to sell through their own utilities.
As part of their response to “protect our customers’ data and to prevent any further harm to our environment,” American Water disconnected or deactivated certain systems. Utility officials took its MyWater system offline, which means they are pausing billing until further notice. There will be no late charges or services shut off while MyWater remains unavailable. Additionally, their call center has limited functionality while MyWater is offline, according to American Water.
The utility is working to bring these systems back online safely and securely, officials said.
American Water does not believe its facilities or operations were impacted by the attack and said staffers were working “around the clock” to investigate the nature and scope of the attack.
“This investigation is ongoing and will take time to complete,” utility officials said on the FAQ page. “We take the cybersecurity of our systems with utmost seriousness and are taking additional steps to strengthen the cybersecurity of American Water’s systems. Our customers and the data we maintain remain our highest priorities.”
Utility officials also said it has notified law enforcement and is cooperating with them.
For more information about the incident, go to amwater.com/corp/security-faq.
