CAMP DAVID, Maryland, July 31 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump at Camp David told reporters that he does not think Iran is behind a cyberattack on Minnesota water systems, despite U.S. officials reportedly suspecting otherwise.
“We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack, and they blame it on Iran. I don’t think so,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting. “I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump said, calling out Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat.
Trump’s claim is at odds with a memo cited by Wired on Thursday which said that the Minnesota Fusion Center, a state-level intelligence-sharing entity, found that the hacks were “aligned” with an allegedly Iran-linked cybersabotage campaign. The New York Times, which cited unnamed U.S. and state officials, said Thursday that investigators believed the hacks were probably the work of Tehran.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Bo Erickson; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Chizu Nomiyama)
