Manufacturing Security: Why Default Passwords Must Go

If you didn’t hear about Iranian hackers breaching US water facilities, it’s because they only managed to control a single pressure station serving 7,000 people. What made this attack noteworthy wasn’t its scale, but how easily the hackers gained access — by simply using the manufacturer’s default password “1111.” This narrow escape prompted CISA to urge manufacturers to eliminate default credentials entirely, citing “years of evidence” that these preset passwords remain one of the most exploited weaknesses.