The Dam They Almost Opened

In 2013, a hacker working on behalf of the Iranian government gained access to the supervisory control system of the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye, New York. The dam sits on Blind Brook, a waterway that feeds into Long Island Sound. It is approximately 20 miles from Midtown Manhattan.

The attacker was able to obtain information about the dam's status, water levels, temperature, and the operational state of the sluice gate, the mechanism that controls water flow. He could see everything. He could not operate the sluice gate only because it had been manually disconnected for maintenance at the time of the intrusion.

If it had been connected, he could have opened it remotely.

The breach wasn't discovered until 2015. The Justice Department didn't charge the attacker until 2016. The dam had been accessible for two years before anyone knew. It was a small dam. The damage from opening its gate would have been limited. That was not the point. The point was that someone had proven it could be done.

The dam is still operational. It serves a residential area in Westchester County.