The U.S. government has issued an alarming warning, revealing that Iranian-backed hackers are stepping up their game by targeting critical infrastructure systems across America.

According to a joint advisory from the FBI, NSA, CISA and Department of Energy, these cyber-attacks have already caused operational disruption and financial loss in sectors such as water utilities, energy facilities, and local government offices. The hackers are exploiting internet-facing systems that control essential industrial equipment, manipulating information displayed on programmable logic controllers and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) products.

The escalation comes after the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, which began with air strikes against the country's leadership. Since then, an Iranian hacking group called Handala has been linked to several high-profile cyberattacks, including a disruptive breach at Stryker, a major medical tech company. The hackers used the firm’s own security tools to remotely wipe thousands of employee devices.

The advisory highlights that these attacks are part of a broader strategy by Iran as tensions continue to rise over control of the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump's threats against Iran on social media.