The ANSSI has published a report on cyber threats targeting water management

Attackers have "heterogeneous motivations and profiles," particularly pro-Russian hacktivists and financially motivated gangs.

On November 28, 2024, the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) released a report on the state of cyber threats targeting water management in France. Between January 2021 and August 2024, the agency handled cyber incidents affecting 46 organizations in the sector. “Among these entities, 12 are regulated operators, representing 34% of the security events addressed, and 7 experienced multiple security incidents during the studied period,” the report states.

According to ANSSI, attackers exhibit “heterogeneous motivations and profiles.” In 2024, destabilization campaigns were the most frequent, with a peak in incidents between May and July, coinciding with the Paris Olympic Games. “Several times throughout the year, pro-Russian hacktivist groups targeted or threatened infrastructures in the sector with the aim of gaining media attention and undermining public authorities,” the report further explains.

Nonetheless, financially motivated attacks remain, according to ANSSI, “the most significant threat.” Of the 28 such compromises reported to the agency, 8 led to the deployment of ransomware.

The report also highlights cybersecurity weaknesses affecting many IT systems dedicated to water management in France. These vulnerabilities are attributed to “the legacy of old installations, the geographic dispersion of sites, or low security budgets,” as well as “the diversity of operators in terms of status, organizational size, and IT security maturity.”

The agency particularly points to “numerous compromises of human-machine interfaces exposed on the Internet, sometimes without authentication,” which primarily affect “smaller-scale operators.”