(NEW YORK) — Two municipal water systems in New Jersey were targeted in cyberattacks in the last week, widely thought to be the work of Iran, the state said Wednesday.

The affected utilities, which were not named, were temporarily blinded when automated systems went down. Both utilities shifted to manual operations and the state said there was no disruption to service and both systems have been “secured with strengthened access controls.”

“Our New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) responded to two cyber incidents affecting New Jersey municipal water systems this past week. The NJCCIC is working directly with the affected utilities alongside our federal partners at the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,” the state said Wednesday.

“The investigations found that the incidents involved vulnerable internet-exposed control systems, which temporarily limited operators’ ability to monitor or manage them remotely. In both cases, staff shifted quickly to manual operations, and there was no disruption to service. Customers had uninterrupted access to safe drinking water throughout,” the state said.

Sources told ABC News that Iran remains the prime suspect, perhaps showing how it could retaliate as President Donald Trump threatens to escalate the war. 

Officials are also assessing whether this could be the work of a different state actor mimicking Iran’s tactics in a possible attempt to influence what the U.S. does next.

In Georgia, the Clayton County Water Authority briefly issued a boil-water advisory when it was targeted by hackers. Columbus Water Works said it also detected an intrusion, but drinking water was unaffected.

The recent hacks, affecting water and wastewater utilities in at least a dozen states, exploited a vulnerability in widely used utility software, sources told ABC News.

A fix has been issued, but utilities across the country that run the same software are racing to see if they were also hacked.

So far, it appears nobody has become sick, and there have been no widespread disruptions to water supplies. However, officials are still working to understand the scope of the hack and what could have happened to systems Americans depend on every day.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The recent release of two credible ransom notes sent to Nancy Guthrie’s family in the days after her abduction generated a “slight increase” in tips, but none that have cracked the case, authorities told ABC News.

The 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1 and remains missing.

On Friday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released details from two ransom notes received by Tucson media in the days after the abduction.

The first note, sent on Feb. 2 to Savannah Guthrie, said, “We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared.” The note asked for millions of dollars in Bitcoin and said “she will be killed” if payment was not received.

The note included descriptions of a smartwatch near her bed and a damaged floodlight in the home’s backyard.

The second note, sent on Feb. 6 to the Guthrie family, said Nancy Guthrie died and “is buried in nature now,” according to the sheriff’s department.

“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,” the note stated. “We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken.”

The note included an apology and said to the family, “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace.”

In response to an inquiry from ABC News, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday that “investigators have seen a slight increase in tips since the two ransom notes were released,” adding that “all tips have been followed up on.”

Savannah Guthrie again pleaded for help in an Instagram post Saturday, writing, “We need someone to come forward.”

“Someone knows something. Someone suspects something,” the journalist said. “Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual — perhaps with someone they deeply love. Perhaps they are afraid to come forward.”

“We are real people, facing real grief,” she said. “We will never stop looking for answers.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.