WEIRD ATTACKS
Ageing IT systems leave utilties vulnerable to mystery hackers, while new developments emerge in the ‘Havana Syndrome’ story
LYE IN THE WATER SUPPLY
In the 1960s and 1970s, it was rumoured that countercultural, psychedelic pioneers had ambitions to lace an entire city’s water supply with LSD, as a mass consciousness-raising exercise (see FT262:38-42). In the 21st century, however, attempts to dose water systems have a more sinister aim. In early 2021, a computer hacker gained remote access to the water treatment system for the city of Oldsmar, Florida, which provides water for local businesses and around 15,000 residents. The hacker attempted to pump a “dangerous” amount of sodium hydroxide (lye) into it. Lye is already used in water systems in small amounts to control acidity, but a large amount could cause major problems in the water. Fortunately, a plant operator spotted the increased flow and reduced the lye level back to normal before any harm could be done. No arrests have been made so far, and it is not yet known if the hack was done from within the US or from a foreign country. Oldsmar’s mayor, Eric Seidel, said: “There’s a bad actor out there.” Sodium hydroxide is the main ingredient in drain cleaner. It is highly corrosive and can cause irritation to the eyes and skin, as well as temporary loss of hair. Swallowing it could cause damage to the mouth, throat and stomach, and induce vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. Local county sheriff Bob Gualtieri said: “I’m not a chemist. But I can tell you what I do know is... if you put that amount of that substance into the drinking water, it’s not a good thing.”
This is not the first time that such an attack has been attempted. In 2016, aVerizon security report detailed a similar attack on another unnamed US water facility, and in Israel last year, multiple attempts were made to hack into the country’s water supplies. Cyber-security experts have been warning of such attacks for years, with threats to all manner of “critical national infrastructure” facilities, including water, electricity and transport systems, as well as nuclear power plants. All are said to be potential targets since many are running on out-of-date and vulnerable IT systems. BBC News, 9 Feb 2021.
HAVANA SONIC ATTACKS
The White House is investigating two “unexplained health incidents” affecting US officials in Washington DC after they suffered sudden symptoms similar to those previously experienced by diplomats in Cuba (see FT359:22, 360:14, 363:4, 370:2627, 382:10-11, 389:26-27, 401:9). There, US and Canadian embassy staff experienced nosebleeds, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, hearing loss and speech problems with no obvious cause. The official report on that incident considered things like neurotoxins and mass psychogenic illness, but concluded that the diplomats’ symptoms were most likely caused by some form of directed energy device, probably using microwaves. One of the Washington incidents, in which an official from the National Security Council suddenly fell ill, took place last November close to the White House. The other happened in the suburb of Arlington where a White House official walking her dog was affected. In this incident, the woman passed a parked van from which a man got out and walked past her; as he did so, her dog seized up while she felt a high-pitched ringing in her ears, an intense headache, and a tingling on the side of her face. She had previously experienced similar symptoms in her hotel room during an official visit to London. In a third case on US soil, a couple who had experienced a probable directed energy attack when serving in China reported being targeted again when they visited Philadelphia to get specialised treatment for its aftermath; once again, they heard sounds and felt pressure to their heads, as they had in China; they changed hotels on the advice of the FBI, but the symptoms repeated on the second night. On running to the room where their children were sleeping, they found them moving in their sleep, bizarrely and in unison, after which they, too, developed vision and balance problems.
There have now been more than 130 cases of ‘Havana Syndrome’ reported by US diplomats,
70 more than previously acknowledged. US officials have said that the number of new cases does not necessarily reflect the number of recent incidents – publicity about the syndrome may have led some people to reinterpret symptoms they were suffering as the result of some form of attack they had not previously suspected.
There is suspicion, but no conclusive proof, that Russia is behind the attacks – if, indeed, that is what they are. Cheryl Rofer, a former chemist at Los
Alamos National Laboratory with expertise on microwaves, has publicly voiced scepticism about the idea that some kind of microwave weapon is responsible for the symptoms people are experiencing. “The evidence for microwave effects of the type categorised as Havana Syndrome is exceedingly weak,” she said. “No proponent of the idea has outlined how the weapon would actually work. No evidence has been offered that such a weapon has been developed by any nation. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and no evidence has been offered to support the existence of this mystery weapon.” She points out that the energy requirements of such a weapon are considerable, and while a petrol-powered version might just be able to be made backpack-sized, to operate one using batteries or other power sources would require it to be mounted in a van or a building, which, particularly for attacks on US soil, would be hard for a hostile intelligence agency to do unnoticed by authorities. Even if this were possible, such a weapon’s range would be tens of feet rather than hundreds and would be seriously attenuated by walls or other structures.
Elsewhere, there are claims that China deployed a microwave weapon against Indian troops in recent border clashes. In a lecture to students at Renmin University in Beijing, Professor Jin Canrong claimed the Chinese military had forced Indian soldiers to vacate an area by training such a weapon on them from a distance, inducing mass vomiting and a swift retreat. The Indian army dismissed the claim as ‘fake news’; but Professor Canrong said: “They [India] didn’t publicise it… because they lost so miserably.” Tobias Elwood, chair of the UK’s Defence Select Committee, did not dismiss the idea, saying: “We know the Chinese have been researching and developing these kinds of weapons for some time.” GQ, 10 Oct 2020; Mail On Sunday, 22 Nov 2020; Guardian, 29 April, 13 May; Foreign Policy, 10 May 2021.