Iranian Cyber Group Handala Claims Cal Water Hack

The Iran-linked cyber group Handala has claimed responsibility for hacking California Water Service, releasing five gigabytes of stolen data including customer billing information and system credentials. The attackers, who are tied to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, allegedly gained access through a GPS base station platform and moved laterally to billing systems, though they claimed to have the ability to disrupt water service but chose not to. Security experts warn this could be a precursor to more destructive attacks, as the group has previously deployed wiper malware in similar campaigns.