Southern Water cyber attack surfs wave of utility threats

The Southern Water cyber attack by Black Basta has brought attention to the increasing threats faced by utilities companies and critical infrastructure operators. The hackers have claimed to have stolen 750GB of sensitive data and are threatening to leak it if a ransom is not paid. The water industry has become a popular target for ransomware attacks, and the US and UK have issued warnings about the cybersecurity risks in the sector. Security experts believe that the water industry is an attractive target for threat actors due to the valuable personal information it holds. Black Basta is a relatively small ransomware group that has already earned $107 million in Bitcoin ransom payments and attacked numerous victims. Companies are advised not to pay ransoms as there is no guarantee that the stolen data will be returned and it only funds future ransomware activity.