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Stolen passwords are exposing America’s water providers to hackers

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New security research has found that well over a thousand U.S. water and wastewater providers are exposed to hacks due to malware that’s capable of stealing their employees’ passwords and active logged-in sessions.

The findings by cybersecurity defense firm SpyCloud underscore how water providers and other critical infrastructure can be compromised with relative ease amidst a wave of hacks targeting the water supplies of dozens of communities across the United States.

While password-stealing malware is not new, the research highlights how stolen passwords offer hackers an easy route to break into an organization’s network without using AI tools.

SpyCloud said it built a database of more than 66,000 public-facing systems that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, amounting to 10,000 organizations. The company found password-stealing malware had swiped passwords and credentials from 1,787 organizations, or nearly two in ten providers they checked. The firm noted at least 250 organizations had credentials exposed that appeared to allow access to their operational networks and remote-access systems, which control the physical pumps and water flows.

The analysis covered an unnamed metering tech provider, which had a device on its network that was infected with password-stealing malware. The malware stole reams of credentials, including passwords for 167 U.S. utility companies that rely on the metering tech provider.

SpyCloud chief investigations officer Jason Lancaster said in the post that this single breach handed criminals the keys to access “a hundred otherwise unrelated organizations.”

Password-stealing malware, also known as infostealers, allow hackers to steal a person’s stored passwords as well as the session tokens that are used to keep them logged in. These session tokens can allow a hacker to log in as if they were the legitimate user, and can often bypass multi-factor authentication systems. Hackers regularly trade stolen credentials in order to obtain passwords or session tokens for accessing specific organizations.

This research comes weeks after a spate of hacks targeting water providers around the United States, which the U.S. government has privately tied to Iran-backed hackers. SpyCloud said it found no evidence that those Iran-linked hacks relied on stolen passwords. In those cases, the signs point to security weaknesses, such as manufacturer-set default passwords, in the mechanical switches and physical controllers used by critical infrastructure, SpyCloud said, echoing earlier findings from U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA. 

Rather, the researchers note that stolen passwords are a major source of access to “whoever wants to buy or find it,” in parallel to the known security risks with critical infrastructure tech. Lancaster said that the water-sector “has to hold both stories at once.”

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Lucid Motors’ EV output falls to lowest level in almost 2 years

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Lucid Motors built 2,954 electric vehicles (EVs) in the third quarter of this year, a 54% drop from a year ago, as the company purposely limits production to better meet demand for its EVs.

This was the third straight quarter in which the number of EVs Lucid built has declined. It’s also the lowest quarterly output since the first quarter of 2025, which was just after Lucid Motors started production of its second EV, the Gravity SUV.

Lucid delivered 3,806 EVs in the third quarter, roughly flat with the second quarter and down about 200 vehicles from the third quarter of 2025. The company has struggled to find buyers for either of its first two luxury EVs. In five of the last six quarters, it built more vehicles than it delivered.

Lucid’s new CEO, Silvio Napoli, has spent the last few months leading an effort to “simplify the company.” That effort has included laying off around 1,500 employees, streamlining the company’s leadership, and eliminating a second shift at its factory in Arizona in a bid to reach cost savings of $1.4 billion. Lucid also delayed the release of its third EV, the Cosmos. That model is supposed to be much cheaper, starting at under $50,000.

The third-quarter figures, released Monday afternoon, come just a few days after rival EV upstart Rivian posted its best quarter in history on the back of the R2, its new, more affordable SUV. Although Rivian didn’t break out specific delivery figures for the R2, the company shipped nearly 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter, the first full quarter with the R2 in production, up from 12,194 in the second quarter.

Lucid’s failure to find a large market of buyers for its EVs is even more stark when compared with the promises the company made when it went public in 2021. That year, Lucid Motors merged with a special purpose acquisition company and estimated it would ship as many as 90,000 EVs in 2024 alone. The company raised $4 billion in the transaction.

On Lucid’s second-quarter earnings call in August, Napoli spoke about why he thinks the company has failed to make a dent in the EV market.

“While there is no question that Lucid brought leading innovations and outstanding products to the market, we have disappointed on several fronts, and for far too long,” he said. “We have not executed consistently. We missed commitments, launched products before they were ready, underinvested in service, responded too slowly to quality issues, and allowed complexity to slow decisions down.”

The Cosmos’ lower price could, in theory, let Lucid access a wider market, but Napoli cautioned shareholders that rushing the new EV out could create more trouble.

“We will not repeat the mistakes of the past by bringing a product to market before it is ready,” Napoli said on the call.

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ADC accuses APC of worsening teachers’ conditions

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The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has said poor welfare, inadequate salaries and rising living costs are making it difficult for Nigerian teachers to perform their duties effectively.

The council said teachers, who play a major role in educating children and shaping the country’s future, are facing worsening working and living conditions.

The ADC-PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this in a message marking the 2026 World Teachers’ Day.

Ologbondiyan described teachers as the backbone of national development, saying many had continued to work despite what he described as years of neglect and hardship.

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“Nigerian teachers are true heroes. They have continued to mould lives, build character and sustain our educational system even in the face of neglect and hardship,” he said.

“We are seeing teachers struggle with rising living costs, irregular and inadequate salaries, poor welfare, limited opportunities for training and deteriorating school infrastructure,” he said.

Ologbondiyan also linked the difficulties to the removal of the petroleum subsidy, saying teachers had not received adequate support to cope with the resulting increase in the cost of living.

He questioned how teachers could perform effectively when they struggled to meet basic needs such as transportation, healthcare and accommodation.

“How can a teacher teach effectively on an empty stomach?” he asked.

He added that high transport costs, inadequate salaries, limited access to medical insurance and the high cost of decent accommodation were placing additional pressure on teachers.

The ADC Presidential Campaign Council also alleged that the teaching profession had been devalued under the All Progressives Congress-led administration.

It cited what it described as poor remuneration for primary and secondary school teachers and repeated industrial actions by tertiary education workers over welfare and working conditions.

Ologbondiyan said teachers had continued to perform their duties and deserved improved working conditions and professional support.

He said an ADC administration led by its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, would make education and teachers’ welfare a priority if elected in 2027.

According to him, the proposed measures would include better wages and allowances, health insurance, affordable housing, professional development and improved teaching and learning facilities.

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