Florida law enforcement officials said today that an unknown hacker breached a water treatment facility in Oldsmar, Florida, a suburb of Tampa, and in a short period of Time increased the level of a potentially dangerous additive 100-fold.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said staff quickly discovered the hack and responded quickly so no one was in danger, but he said it underscores the widespread threat of cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure.
Gualtieri said computer operators at the water treatment plant in the town of Osma discovered on the afternoon of May that someone had logged in from a remote location and manipulated the plant’s controls. The town of Osma is located about 27 kilometers northwest of Tampa and has a population of about 15,000.
He said that the hacker successfully hacked into the employee’s computer and obtained access to the TeamViewer software, when the staff member responsible for monitoring the computer suddenly saw a pop-up “computer is logged in” notice, someone seemed to be remote mouse control, open the program and manipulate the system.
The employee saw the mouse cursor move between functions for several minutes, and then opened the control device for adding sodium hydroxide to the water, he immediately notified his supervisor to alert the police, and the plant immediately cancelled the instruction to increase the sodium hydroxide content to minimize the impact.
Sodium hydroxide, a chemical also known as lye, is used in sewer cleaners in very small amounts to control acidity and remove metal ions from water.
The Hackers increased the amount of sodium hydroxide added to the system 100 times from 100 parts per million (100 ppm) to 11,100 parts per million (11,100 ppm) before logging it off, Gattieri said at a press conference, adding that “such a huge increase is obviously potentially dangerous, and fortunately it was discovered in time.
Gattieri said water users would not be affected because even if the hack was not immediately detected, it would take at least 24 hours for water with high sodium hydroxide content to reach consumers, and in the meantime, security mechanisms would alert plant personnel to changes in water quality.
He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service (US Secret Service) are assisting in the investigation, but so far no suspects have been uncovered.
Investigators have not yet determined whether the hackers came from inside or outside the country, and it is not clear why the town of Osma was targeted.
Like other utility systems, the water system is part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and could be a vulnerable target if someone wanted to adversely affect public safety,” Gattieri said.
“It’s important to call attention to the fact that this is a wake-up call.
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