US cybersecurity agency issues an urgent alert as Iranian hackers attack critical infrastructure — CISA guidance warns organizations to immediately shield certain programmable logic controllers from the internet to thwart future attacks

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued an urgent alert warning organizations about Iranian hackers targeting critical American infrastructure, particularly programmable logic controllers used in water and energy companies. The guidance advises organizations to shield these controllers from direct internet exposure to prevent future attacks. The alert, following recent Iran-U.S. tensions, highlights the risk to critical infrastructure and recommends steps like auditing access logs and limiting public-facing internet access to vulnerable hardware. The threat is serious enough that multiple U.S. agencies are involved in warning organizations at risk, emphasizing the importance of securing systems against cyber threats from nations like Iran.