Iranian Cyber Group Handala Claims Cal Water Hack
The Iran-linked threat actor Handala this week boasted to have hacked California Water Service (Cal Water), and published 5 gigabytes of data allegedly stolen from the US water utility.
In a post on their blog, the hacking group said the intrusion was retaliation for recent US actions in Iran and claimed they had the ability to disrupt water access but chose not to.
The hackers stated they deliberately avoided cutting off water to U.S. cities, framing the intrusion as a warning. They declared that any future U.S. attack would be met with swift retaliation against American infrastructure. The incident follows reported U.S. strikes on Iranian water infrastructure in June, which Iran has registered as a potential war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
The group also claimed to have breached U.S. military communications, obtaining coordinates of naval forces in the Middle East and sending threatening messages to American personnel. Cybersecurity researchers link Handela to a broader Iranian cyber network known as "Banished Kitten."
What goes around comes around.