American Senator Calls for Sanctions Against Iran in Response to Cyber Attack on a Dam

Charles Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, stated on Friday, March 11, that a cyber attack on a small dam in the "Bowman Avenue" area of suburban New York was a warning from Iran to the United States, and that severe sanctions should be imposed on Iran in response to this action. American media reports indicate that Iranian hackers attacked the control system of the "Bowman Avenue" dam, located 35 kilometers from New York City, which is a small structure used to control flooding in the area, in 2013. According to the Associated Press, Senator Charles Schumer said, "It is now clear that (the cyber attack) was the work of the Iranians." This Democratic senator added, "What did they want to do? They sent a warning message. They said they can seriously harm our infrastructure and endanger the lives and property of people." Charles Schumer has confirmed that an indictment related to this matter is set to be issued next month. The Associated Press notes, however, that it is unclear whether this indictment will be against specific individuals in the Iranian government or whether it will be a general indictment. Meanwhile, Iran's mission to the United Nations has not yet responded to this news agency's request for comment. The day before, CNN reported that the U.S. Department of Justice holds Iran responsible for the 2013 cyber attack on the "Bowman Avenue" dam. Additionally, Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reacted to CNN's report by stating, "It is clear that we take these destructive activities in cyberspace seriously and will use all the tools and resources at our disposal to prevent and counter such actions." In this context, the Wall Street Journal reported in December of this year regarding this attack: According to a summary of a National Security Agency report on this incident that was recently made public, hackers had infiltrated the control system of this dam through a wireless modem. The height of this small concrete dam is about seven meters, and it is located eight kilometers from Long Island. According to Reuters, the Iranian hackers' attacks in 2013 highlighted vulnerabilities in the computer systems managing and controlling U.S. infrastructure, and the U.S. government took these attacks seriously.