Speaking at a July 31 Cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump said: “I think that Minnesota is behind it. You know who is behind it? Minnesota, because they are grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it. I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota needs to get its act together.”
The White House offered no evidence to support the president’s claim. When asked for documentation that Minnesota was solely responsible, a spokesperson referred reporters back to Trump’s own remarks.
Federal Warnings Preceded the Attacks
Nine days before Trump’s comments, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a warning about “ongoing Iranian-affiliated cyber targeting” of devices that run critical infrastructure. A separate December 2024 CISA advisory had specifically cited water and wastewater systems as targets of IRGC-affiliated cyber actors exploiting programmable logic controllers — the same devices breached in Minnesota.
Minnesota IT Services confirmed on July 28 that a coordinated attack on July 26 and 27 targeted operational technology at more than 30 community water systems. The agency said most confirmed cases involved programmable logic controllers, the exact pathway CISA had flagged.
Seven States Hit, Not Just One
The FBI and Environmental Protection Agency announced jointly on July 30 that malicious cyber actors had attacked water and wastewater utilities “in at least seven states,” with some activity degrading water operations. The FBI did not identify the other six states, but the breadth of the attacks undercuts the notion that Minnesota alone was responsible.
After remotely accessing internet-facing devices, the attackers changed IP addresses and passwords, causing loss of monitoring and control functionality. Reported operational effects included loss of pressure and flooding. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that officials said drinking water remained safe and water quality was unaffected.
Both The Minnesota Star Tribune and The New York Times reported that U.S. and state officials believed Iran was likely behind the attacks, citing preliminary information and officials familiar with the matter.
Experts: Attribution Is Rarely Simple
Vassil Roussev, director of the Cyber Center at Louisiana State University at New Orleans, said assigning blame in cyber attacks is inherently uncertain.
“Cyberattack attribution is typically very difficult and inherently uncertain,” Roussev said. “There are usually clues based on known methods, code and other attributes, but these could be imitated by a third party as well. This is similar to intelligence assessment — there is rarely complete certainty, only degrees of confidence.”
Roussev noted that many critical infrastructure systems “rely on old automation technologies that were never designed with security in mind and are, by default, very vulnerable.” Securing them, he said, “requires systematic planning, investments and constant vigilance. Any lapses are potentially exploitable by adversaries with the potential for mass effects in the physical world.”
Political Fallout Intensifies
Walz fired back on X, writing: “Trump knows exactly who is responsible for this attack, and knows that other states were hit too. This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there’s no plan to win a war with Iran.”
Walz also accused the Trump administration of weakening the nation’s cyber defenses, pointing to DOGE cuts to CISA that he said “left the U.S. exposed to cyber attacks.” The Trump administration has a documented record of reducing CISA staffing and resources, including the president’s firing of CISA director Chris Krebs after the agency affirmed the integrity of the 2020 election.
CISA said on July 30 that “these threat actors are targeting water entities of all sizes,” signaling the campaign is broad and ongoing rather than isolated to one state’s failures.
What Happens Next
Federal and state investigators will continue probing the attacks, with attribution likely taking weeks or months given the complexity of cyber forensic work. The FBI and EPA are coordinating with affected utilities across all seven states, and CISA is urging water systems nationwide to secure their operational technology. Politically, the dispute between Trump and Walz is likely to escalate as the 2026 election cycle heats up, with both sides using the attacks to argue the other has failed on national security. Expect further scrutiny of CISA’s reduced capacity and whether administration budget cuts have left critical infrastructure more exposed to foreign adversaries.
— Jordan Blake, editorial desk, AXO News