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A dam was breached by Iranian hackers outside of New York in 2013, as per the former official. They managed to gain control of the flood gates of the dam. This cyber attack was previously not disclosed and was first highlighted by Wall Street Journal early this week. The former official working at the dam said that the attackers hacked into Bowman Avenue Dam near Rye Brook in New York and it cannot be called a very sophisticated intrusion. This was merely a test to ascertain the level of access the hackers could gain. This breach occurred around the same time as the Iranian hackers were trying to target other U.S. financial institutions. While the attackers failed to penetrate the dam systems completely, they did manage to take control of the flood gates. As per the officials, this incident has always remained classified.

According to Paul Rosenberg, Mayor of Rye Brook, the dam controls the flow of water when it rains so that flooding of the downstream can be prevented. This dam is managed by software that is very basic, said Rosenberg to CNN. "I think one of the great things here is that the federal government stepped in and stopped what could have been something bad from happening," Rosenberg said. "We appreciate that, but it makes me wonder about what would be potentially next, and that makes me concerned. I think in this day and age all municipalities needs to look at our infrastructure and see where are our soft targets, where should we be prepared."

The investigations later pointed to Iran as the potential attacker and forewarned the authorities to the possibility of warfare capabilities of that country, revealed the report. The same hackers that were responsible for breaking into Bowman Avenue systems were also implicated on three separate attacks on US financial firms, reported BBC News.