Trump Contradicts U.S. Officials on Minnesota Water System Cyberattack, Blames Governor Walz

President Donald Trump rejected assessments from U.S. and state officials regarding a coordinated cyberattack on Minnesota’s water infrastructure, instead attributing the incident to what he characterized as mismanagement by Gov. Tim Walz. Speaking Friday at Camp David during a Cabinet meeting, Trump claimed the attack on 30 water plants resulted from Minnesota’s gross incompetence rather than Iranian involvement.

Trump’s remarks directly contradicted preliminary findings shared by federal and state authorities. He dismissed Iran’s likely involvement as improbable, stating the nation “should be so lucky” to target Minnesota given what he described as more pressing concerns facing Tehran.

The Minnesota IT Services division reported that the coordinated cyberattack struck operational technology systems at more than 30 community water facilities on Sunday and Monday. The state Department of Health indicated no known threat to drinking water supplies and reported no active requests from municipalities asking residents to modify water usage.

Federal and state officials told The New York Times that Iranian hackers likely orchestrated the attack. However, Minnesota IT Services has not yet identified a specific actor responsible, with the investigation ongoing.

Malicious software temporarily disabled well and water treatment controls in Braham, while Plymouth and South St. Paul shifted certain operations to manual control. Federal agencies had warned days prior that Iranian-affiliated hackers were targeting computerized systems controlling water infrastructure, power facilities and local government networks.

Iran has previously targeted U.S. water infrastructure. In 2023, hackers affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps breached programmable controllers at multiple American water and wastewater facilities, exploiting equipment exposed to the internet with default or absent security protections.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, over fraud in Minnesota’s state-administered social services programs. Walz did not seek a third gubernatorial term in January following scrutiny of his administration’s handling of those schemes, though he has not been accused of participating in the fraud.