Rural Maine Sewage Plants Hit by Ransomware

News of ransomware attacks on two sewage treatment plants in rural Maine came to light this week, shining a light on the need for even small communities to be vigilant about cybersecurity and security awareness.

Several news outlets report the attacks occurred in April 2021 in Mount Desert and on the Fourth of July in Limestone. Officials associated with the affected facilities say no money was paid and no customer data was compromised in either attack.

A Limestone Water and Sewer District official says a control computer was hit with the malware, the Associated Press reports. While the attackers did not do any substantial damage, the alarm system that alerts workers if pumps overheat or if tanks are overfilled had to be offline for a time.

Read more about the attacks here.