U.S. Infrastructure Monthly Roundup

May 2025

A monthly compilation of news stories and articles covering physical and cyber threats and hazards to U.S. infrastructure.
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Energy Sector

28 dead, at least $9 billion in damages after deadly storms, tornadoes sweep across central, eastern U.S.

At least 28 people have died and dozens more were injured after a devastating wave of severe weather swept across the central United States late May 16 into May 17, leaving a trail of catastrophic destruction. Images emerging from the town of London, Kentucky, showed entire neighborhoods razed and downed power lines. More than 700,000 homes and businesses across 12 states lost power during the height of the outbreak, according to PowerOutage.us, with Missouri and Kentucky hit the hardest.

www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/28-dead-at-least-9-billion-in-damages-after-deadly-storms-tornadoes-sweep-across-central-eastern-us/1775624

Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters

U.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said. Rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters by U.S. experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues. "That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid," one of the people said.

www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14

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Electricity Subsector:

Oil and Natural Gas Subsector:

Transportation Systems Sector

Newark air traffic operations improving with flight cuts, U.S. says

Operations at Newark, one of the main airports serving New York City, have improved significantly after the federal government imposed flight cuts following a series of major disruptions, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on May 28. New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, located about 9 miles from Manhattan, has experienced a chaotic series of equipment outages, runway construction, and air traffic control staffing issues for weeks.

www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/newark-air-traffic-operations-improving-with-flight-cuts-us-says-2025-05-28

Mexico's navy points finger at U.S. after ship hits Brooklyn Bridge

Mexico's navy chief has said that the pilot manning its training ship which crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge on May 17 was under the control of New York authorities. The crash occurred when the Cuauhtémoc training vessel collided with the bridge spanning the East River, resulting in two deaths and 22 injuries. Mexico’s navy chief acknowledged that the pilot of the vessel had only 80 to 90 seconds to avoid the impact, adding that it was currently impossible to determine whether they took appropriate measures to avoid the collision.

www.newsweek.com/mexican-ship-navy-points-united-states-brooklyn-bridge-ship-crash-2075157

More News:

Aviation Subsector:

Highway and Motor Carrier Subsector:

Maritime Transportation System Subsector:

Mass Transit and Passenger Rail Subsector:

Freight Rail Subsector:

Postal and Shipping Subsector:

More Infrastructure News

Chemical Facilities:

Chlorine gas leak south of Houston contained after prompting shelter-in-place order for Clute and Lake Jackson

www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2025/05/20/521797/chlorine-gas-leak-at-freeport-prompts-shelter-in-place-for-clute-and-lake-jackson

Communications:

Cellcom Restores Regional Mobile Services After Cyberattack

www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/cellcom-restores-regional-mobile-services-cyberattack

Commercial Facilities:

Shooting at Capital Jewish Museum highlights rising wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes

www.foxnews.com/us/shooting-capital-jewish-museum-highlights-rising-wave-anti-jewish-hate-crimes

Critical Manufacturing:

Ford worker among 4 arrested in multimillion-dollar auto parts theft, Dearborn police say

www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2025/05/08/police-ford-employee-among-4-arrested-in-car-parts-theft-operation/83513116007

Dams:

Aging Dams in Oklahoma: A Looming Catastrophe For Residents

klaw.com/oklahoma-aging-dams

Defense Industrial Base:

Hegseth’s Use of Passwords Raises New Security Concerns

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/us/politics/hegseth-phone-security.html

Education Facilities:

A mom is accused of buying ammunition and tactical gear for her son, despite repeated warnings about violent plans at school

www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/us/texas-mom-arrest-son-planned-shooting

19-year-old accused of largest child data breach in U.S. agrees to plead guilty

www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/alleged-hacker-largest-breach-us-childrens-data-agrees-plead-guilty-rcna207963

Emergency Services:

10 escape from New Orleans jail through hole in cell wall while lone guard left to get food

apnews.com/article/new-orleans-inmates-escape-0f96f173a3ded57b4b23f9a07b6cffac

Financial Services:

DOJ launches probe into Coinbase's insider-driven data leak

cryptoslate.com/doj-launches-probe-into-coinbases-insider-driven-data-leak

Food and Agriculture:

USDA halts livestock imports at southern border amid parasite threat

www.newsweek.com/usda-halts-livestock-imports-southern-border-amid-parasite-threat-2070719

Government Facilities:

U.S. citizen arrested and accused of planning to bomb U.S. Embassy office in Israel

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-citizen-arrested-planned-bomb-office-us-embassy-israel-rcna208989

National Weather Service on guard after threats to weather radars from militarized conspiracy theorist group

www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/weather/weather-weapons-nws-radar-attack

Hack of Contractor Was at Root of Massive Federal Data Breach

www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/05/21/824641.htm

Healthcare and Public Health:

FBI links California fertility clinic bombing to anti-natalist ideology

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/palm-springs-fertility-clinic-bomb-anti-natalism-rcna207543

Information Technology:

Chinese APT41 Exploits Google Calendar for Malware Command-and-Control Operations

thehackernews.com/2025/05/chinese-apt41-exploits-google-calendar.html

More than 184 million passwords exposed in massive data breach — Apple, Google, Microsoft and more

www.tomsguide.com/computing/online-security/more-than-184-million-passwords-exposed-in-massive-data-breach-apple-google-microsoft-and-more

Water and Wastewater Systems:

Governor activates Arkansas National Guard to distribute water in Sheridan

arkansasadvocate.com/briefs/governor-activates-arkansas-national-guard-to-distribute-water-in-sheridan

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