Last week, a hacker was able to breach the computer system of the water treatment facility in Oldsmar, Florida. The attack was detected before it affected the population. Initial reports indicate the hacker or hackers attempted to add dangerous levels of sodium hydroxide to the water supply using the plant’s remote access software. Cyber experts have warned that the attack highlights cyber infrastructure vulnerabilities.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive on the evening of December 13, 2020 in response to a massive data breach due to a critical software vulnerability that impacted several federal agencies.

A Department of Justice press release on September 17, 2020 announced an indictment alleging that three hackers from Iran engaged in a coordinated campaign of identity theft and hacking on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to steal information related to U.S. aerospace and satellite technology and resources.

On July 15th, 2020, Twitter experienced a widespread hack that affected over 100 prominent Twitter accounts. There were three hackers allegedly responsible for perpetrating the attack. Mason Sheppard, aka “Chaewon,” 19, of Bognor Regis in the United Kingdom and Nima Fazeli, aka “Rolex,” 22, of Orlando, Florida were charged in criminal complaints in the Northern District of California. The third defendant is a juvenile whom the DOJ referred to the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial District in Tampa, Florida.

A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment this week charging WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with offenses relating to his involvement in the release of classified information. The indictment does not add any additional charges to the prior 18 count indictment, but broadens the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously charged.