Bremanger Dam (Lake Risvatnet, Norway)

In April, the Bremanger dam in western Norway experienced a suspected cyber-sabotage incident attributed to Russian hackers. The attackers remotely opened one of the dam’s valves, causing an uncontrolled increase in water flow for approximately four hours. While the incident did not pose an immediate threat to surrounding areas or result in structural damage, it highlighted critical vulnerabilities in water infrastructure security. The attack, though thwarted before escalating, demonstrated the potential for cyber-physical disruptions to essential public services. Norwegian authorities, including the Police Security Service, linked the incident to politically motivated cyber malfeasance, emphasizing the growing risk of state-sponsored attacks targeting civilian infrastructure. The foiled attempt in Poland where an unnamed city’s water supply was nearly cut off further underscored the systemic threat to water facilities across Europe, raising concerns about the resilience of such systems against sophisticated cyber threats.

Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/4042449/russia-linked-european-attacks-renew-concerns-over-water-cybersecurity.html

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/waterisac

"id": "wat423082225",
"linkid": "waterisac",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "4/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "7",
"explanation": "Attack that could injure or kill people"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'water management',
                        'location': 'western Norway',
                        'name': 'Bremanger Dam (Lake Risvatnet)',
                        'type': 'critical infrastructure (dam)'},
                       {'industry': 'water management',
                        'location': 'Poland',
                        'name': 'Unnamed Polish City Water Supply',
                        'type': 'municipal infrastructure'}],
 'description': 'Two incidents reported by European leaders highlight '
                'politically motivated cyberattacks on local water facilities. '
                'In Norway, Russian hackers are suspected of sabotaging a dam '
                'at Bremanger on Lake Risvatnet by opening a valve to increase '
                'water flow for ~4 hours (April 2024). In Poland, an unnamed '
                "city's water supply was nearly cut off due to a cyberattack "
                '(foiled; Russian hackers suspected but unconfirmed).',
 'impact': {'downtime': ['4 hours (Norway dam valve open)', None],
            'operational_impact': ['increased water flow (Norway)',
                                   'potential water supply cutoff (Poland, '
                                   'foiled)'],
            'systems_affected': ['dam control systems (Norway)',
                                 'water supply infrastructure (Poland)']},
 'initial_access_broker': {'high_value_targets': ['water infrastructure']},
 'investigation_status': ['ongoing (Norway)', 'unconfirmed details (Poland)'],
 'motivation': 'politically motivated',
 'references': [{'source': 'Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) statement'},
                {'source': 'Poland Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski '
                           'statement'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': ['public disclosure by '
                                         'Norwegian/Polish officials'],
              'containment_measures': ['valve closed after 4 hours (Norway)',
                                       'attack foiled (Poland)'],
              'law_enforcement_notified': ['Norwegian Police Security Service '
                                           '(Norway)']},
 'threat_actor': ['Russian hackers (suspected)'],
 'title': 'Cyberattacks on European Water Facilities by Suspected Russian '
          'Hackers',
 'type': ['cyber-physical sabotage', 'cyberattack']}