SCADA is a computer system used in all sorts of places.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is a computer application used to monitor and control a plant or equipment at the supervisory level.....SCADA systems are used in many different industries to collect and analyze real-time data, as well as to control functions, which makes them a target to malicious hackers....
Water systems use SCADA software.
When connected to the internet (as many are), it is vulnerable to cyber-attacks UNLESS the system is protected with other software.
Minnesota water systems were apparently attacked by black hats; the FBI seems to think they were Iranian in origin. Ironically, the most famous attack on a SCADA installation (Stuxnet) was Israeli-based; they attacked some Iranian systems. These attacks go back to 2010; they are not "new threats" in any sense of the term. One of the victims (to the tune of $70 million in damages) was Minnesota-based Target. Huh.
Anyhow.
Trump remarked that the Minnesota attacks were the fault of incompetent Minnesota government(s); he did NOT include the FBI's suspicion that the attacks were Iranian-originated in his offhand remarks. Trump did not "rule out" Iranian involvement: he merely pinned the tail on the Minnesota donkeys.
Trump is probably correct. As you can see from the list of victims included at the link above, there are plenty of organizations which have not hardened their SCADA systems against an attack. Should Trump have first acknowledged the FBI's suspicions? We would have. But should he have exonerated the State of Walz' public utilities operators for remarkably lax IT security? Hell, no.
Note well: in this story, it becomes very clear that "cyber security" is the issue at the center of the problem. Odd: it appears that Blake Eason never watched this story. (See below.)
The FBI is correct. So is Trump.
Minnesota? Well, look who runs that hot mess......
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Meantime, Channel 12's Blake Eason made a fool of himself by stating that Trump blamed Minnesota's utilities "without evidence." Trump undoubtedly knew all about the FBI's findings; he is the President.
We're willing to bet (without evidence) that Blake Eason never heard of "SCADA" and has no friggin' idea what it is. We're also willing to bet that Eason did ZERO research on the matter before making his uninformed comment.
(It would be fun to review old Eason tapes while he--without evidence--warned his Nashville audience about the DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM of Covid, simultaneously--without evidence--yapping about the efficacy and absolute necessity of "masks," "social distancing," and "vaccinations" and reading the cue-cards telling him that Covid came from a bat-cave. Because cue-cards are "evidence," ya'know.)
But that's what Teh Nooz is these days.
