After Cyberattack, Utility Urges Customers To Replace Credit Cards

By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje

The water utility in San Angelo, TX, is urging customers who paid their water bill online during the summer months to immediately get a new card.

“The City has received the results of a forensics investigation regarding a breach last month to a vendor’s online water payment system. The investigation found that malware skimmed credit card information from the contracted vendor’s server from June 17 to August 16,” the utility said in a statement.

“Only online one-time payments – as opposed to payments automatically drafted from a credit card – were at risk. Credit card payments made via auto-pay, by phone or in person were not compromised,” it continued.

Water Utilities Director Allison Strube addressed the inconvenience.

“Replacing a credit card is a hassle; we understand and apologize for that,” she said. “But we would much rather that inconvenience not be compounded by customers also having to clear unauthorized purchases. We have worked with our vendor to prevent this from happening again.”

As water utilities face growing cybersecurity challenges, the National Institute of Standards and Technology makes tools available to utilities to help assess cybersecurity risks.

Sometimes threats to water utility finances come from without. Sometimes they come from within. A credit card is at the center of challenges for a Rhode Island water supplier, as well, but in a different way.

Rhode Island police are investigating questionable credit card activity at a water utility.

Reports stated that “Providence Water Supply spokesperson Chris Hunter confirmed Providence police are conducting a criminal investigation into ‘suspicious activity’ on a Providence Water credit card,” the Associated Press reported.

It is not the first potential scandal to hit this water provider.

“The investigation follows the August 2 resignation of former purchasing supervisor Rebecca Lourenco. Lourenco had been placed on leave after an agency audit discovered questionable credit card transactions,” the Associated Press reported.

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