American energy technology company Itron has admitted that hackers gained access to some of its systems following a cyberattack in mid-April.
Itron said in a legally required filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday that it had been “notified” that there was an intruder in its systems. The company did not say who was notified, but added that it has since expelled the hacker and there are no signs of further infiltration of internal systems.
Itron did not disclose the type of cyberattack it experienced, including whether ransomware was deployed or whether it was contacted directly by the hackers. It's also not immediately clear how the cyberattack is affecting the company's systems.
The company said it had not observed any fraudulent activity on “customer-hosted portions of the system,” suggesting the breach may be limited to its IT network.
Itron said it has also notified law enforcement of the violation.
The Liberty Lake, Wash.-based company provides technology to manage energy consumption in energy grids such as water, gas and electricity supplies. The company provides internet-connected utility meters to more than 110 million homes and businesses, according to its website. Itron has thousands of customers, including cities and municipalities, and operates in more than 100 countries, the company's website says.
Itron said it had activated contingency plans and data backups and that its operations were “continuing in all material respects,” but warned that legal filings and regulatory notifications may then be required. This suggests that the company may have experienced a data breach, which could result in further legal notice under state data breach notification laws.
It's not clear who is responsible for cybersecurity at Itron. An Itron spokesperson did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
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