Algonac, Michigan, officials said a cyberattack targeted cellular modems linking the city’s water filtration plant to remote control equipment but was contained without significant operational effects.
The city disclosed the incident in its Aug. 18 council packet. An Aug. 6 email included in the packet said the attack had occurred “a couple of weeks ago,” placing it around late July. The city has not provided an exact date or said whether operators temporarily lost monitoring or control.
In response, the city approved replacement cellular modems with firewall protections and connections limited to approved IP addresses. UIS SCADA Inc., the city’s system integrator, proposed the work. Public records do not establish whether the replacements have been installed.
Algonac’s water department says the plant treats and delivers an average of 1.5 million gallons daily to residents and businesses in Algonac, Clay Township and parts of Cottrellville Township. The city has not reported a service interruption, water-quality problem or public-health effect from the attack.
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The incident occurred amid a broader series of attacks on water and wastewater systems. The FBI and Environmental Protection Agency said utilities in at least seven states reported attacks beginning July 27 against internet-facing programmable logic controllers, or PLCs. Michigan officials separately said nine municipal water systems experienced activity consistent with the federal warning, The Associated Press reported.
Attacks in Brown City and Alpena Township also involved cellular connections or remote water-system controls. All three municipalities used UIS SCADA, although no public evidence indicates the integrator was compromised. Neither state nor federal authorities have publicly identified Algonac as part of the broader activity.
Public records do not identify a responsible actor or indicate that ransomware or unauthorized data access was involved. A Sept. 15 council packet documents continued water operations in August but provides no update on the investigation or modem replacements. The city did not respond to a request for comment.
