US Agencies Warn of Attacks on Internet-Exposed Fuel Tank Gauges

Jun 6, 2026 · Original article ↗

Summary

Federal agencies warned of malicious activity targeting Internet-exposed automatic tank gauges in the US. Shadowserver found 909 discoverable US devices after filtering honeypots; authorities urge operators to remove them from the Internet, patch, and strengthen access.

Key points

Eight federal agencies warned of malicious activity targeting Internet-exposed automatic tank gauge (ATG) systems in the US; they did not attribute it to a specific threat group.
Compromised ATGs could allow attackers to alter tank readings, pump controls, or settings, and potentially disable alerts.
Shadowserver found 909 discoverable ATGs in the US after filtering honeypots; it counted 30 in Canada, 22 in Australia, and four each in the UK and Brazil.
A past Bitsight study found seven critical zero-day vulnerabilities across six popular ATG models, including command injection, authentication bypass, and hardcoded credentials.
Authorities recommend removing ATGs from the open Internet, applying patches, enforcing strong credentials, and monitoring for unauthorized access.
Industrial operators can also use physical safeguards and unidirectional gateways to reduce potential consequences.

Article Details

Event Type: Joint federal warning about malicious cyber activity targeting Internet-exposed automatic tank gauge (ATG) systems in the United States.
Impact: Compromised ATGs could allow attackers to alter tank readings or pump controls and disable alerts, potentially disrupting operations and creating safety risks. Shadowserver reported 909 discoverable ATGs in the US after filtering out honeypots; the article does not confirm that those devices were compromised.

People

Andrew GinterVice president of industrial security at Waterfall Security Solutions; he advised removing devices and human-machine interfaces from the Internet and described mitigations for reducing operational consequences.

Countries

AustraliaThe next most-exposed countries were Canada (with 30 exposed ATGs), Australia (22), and then the UK (four) and Brazil (four).BrazilThe next most-exposed countries were Canada (with 30 exposed ATGs), Australia (22), and then the UK (four) and Brazil (four).CanadaThe next most-exposed countries were Canada (with 30 exposed ATGs), Australia (22), and then the UK (four) and Brazil (four).Irangroup; the statement might be in reference to reports last month that threat actors loosely linked to Iran have been attacking ATGs at gas stations around the country.United KingdomThe next most-exposed countries were Canada (with 30 exposed ATGs), Australia (22), and then the UK (four) and Brazil (four).United StatesCyberattackers are targeting Internet-exposed automatic tank gauge (ATG) systems in the United States, prompting a joint warning from multiple federal agencies.

Industries

EnergyAgency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Energy (DoE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of IndustrialATGs are the electronic gauges that industrial sites use to monitor liquid storage tanks, whether they contain dangerous chemicals, fuel, or whatever else.