Cyberattack Forces American Water Works to Pause Billing for 14 Million Customers in 14 States

Oct 7, 2024, 09:12 PM

American Water Works, the Camden, New Jersey-based largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, announced that it experienced a cybersecurity incident after discovering unauthorized activity within its networks on October 3. Hackers breached its computer networks and systems, prompting the company to disconnect affected systems and pause billing to customers. The company supplies drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 states, including New Jersey, California, and Pennsylvania, and services on 18 military installations. As a result of the breach, the company has taken its MyWater customer portal offline, leading to billing outages. The attack comes amid growing warnings from the U.S. government that state-backed hackers are increasingly targeting water infrastructure.