A hacker in Florida tried to poison the urban water supply system

The police in Oldsmar, located in western Florida, said on the 8th that a hacker tried to release toxic chemicals in the city’s water supply system last Friday.

According to reports, at a press conference on the 8th, the Pinellas County sheriff, Bob Gualtieri stated that the local police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Secret Service have all been involved in investigating the incident. He said that a worker noticed last Friday that someone was remotely accessing his workstation and managed to increase the sodium hydroxide content in the water supply system. The report mentioned that this corrosive substance is usually only used in small amounts in urban water sources to control acidity.

Gualtieri said that the workers immediately noticed the changes and made corrections, so the city’s water supply was not affected. “At no time was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated,” Gualtieri said, adding: “Importantly, the public was never in danger.”

Via: theguardian