Hackers attempt to poison water supply in Florida town
OLDSMAR: Hackers broke into a water treatment system that serves the town of Oldsmar in Florida on Saturday and attempted to poison the water supply, the Pinellas County Sheriff said yesterday.
The hackers remotely gained access to a software program on the computer of an employee at the facility, sheriff Bob Gualtieri told Reuters.
‘‘The guy was sitting there monitoring the computer as he’s supposed to and all of a sudden he sees a window pop up that the computer has been accessed,’’
Gualtieri said. ‘‘The next thing you know someone is dragging the mouse and clicking around and opening programs and manipulating the system.’’
The hackers increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, being distributed into the water supply. The chemical is typically used in small amounts to control the acidity of water, but at higher levels is dangerous to consume.
The employee whose computer was hacked noticed the change and alerted his employer, who called the sheriff.
The water treatment facility was able to quickly revert the command, leading to minimal impact. — Reuters