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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) -  Unauthorized cyber activity  could be behind a pump station failure that prompted Clayton County water officials to issue a boil advisory last week.

The Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) issued the advisory last Monday for northern parts of the county after an overnight pump station failure caused a system outage, officials with the authority said at the time.

The next day, CCWA announced that it had lifted the advisory, saying the water tested negative for harmful bacteria and was safe to consume.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Boil advisory for northern parts of Clayton County lifted

On Monday, CCWA said it is  investigating unauthorized cyber activity that may have caused or contributed to the disruption  at the pump station  as utilities nationwide are facing a growing number of cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure. 

The announcement comes as the FBI warns about cyberattacks against water systems in at least seven states. The agency has not named those states, but recent cases have been reported in Minnesota and Michigan.

The FBI has not publicly identified a culprit, but warned in an advisory last month that Iranian hackers have been targeting water and wastewater systems and the operational controls of other critical infrastructure sectors.

After the incident last Monday, CCWA said it  immediately activated its incident-response procedures and coordinated with federal, state, law-enforcement, regulatory, and cybersecurity partners, including the FBI and CISA, to investigate the incident, restore operations, and secure the affected systems. 

CCWA said there is so far  no evidence that customer billing or payment information was accessed or compromised. 

CCWA  continues to monitor and strengthen its systems,  but because the investigation is ongoing, it  will not provide technical details that could compromise system security or law-enforcement efforts. 

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.

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