Water Supply Poisoned By Hacker

Water Supply Poisoned By Hacker

Feb 09, 2021

Water is a basic necessity for all living creatures on Earth and it's something we take for granted, water isn't something that is regularly recognized as a potential threat from hackers. However, for one such hacker, this was their goal...

Florida's Oldsmar Water Treatment Facility poisoning was halted when a hacker was discovered attempting to raise the sodium hydroxide levels in the water supply. Sodium Hydroxide, also known as lye, is a treatment used in water purification to increase the pH levels in order to reduce corrosion and filter out heavy metals.

On February 8th, the water treatment operator noticed the systems remote access feature enabled, which is not a strange occurrence. Supervisors generally check in on systems by using remote access, however, the operator watched as the sodium hydroxide levels were changed from 100 parts per million to a whopping 11,100 parts per million. This drastic increase is not only dangerous, but lethal if someone were to come into contact with water under that dosage of contamination.

The operator swiftly reverted the settings and alerted his superiors, they promptly called assistance from the FBI and Secret Service. While they have leads of the culprit, no one has any idea if the threat came from within the country or from a foreign source.

The water treatment facility says that the water supply was never in any danger due to redundant safety features, but I think they are missing the point; If an intruder could so easily remotely access and change the settings to lethal values with barely anyone noticing, what else could they have done?

Within the past year, there have been hacking attempts at every form of critical infrastructure in the United States, from power grids to nuclear plants. Doesn't this sound like a form of data gathering? All of these events are text book surveillance attacks prior to a major breach in security. Expect to see several more cyber attacks similar to this, small breaches to test the response time and severity of government agencies.

There is something on a grand scale afoot, a cyber attack greater than we have ever seen. All we can do is prepare for the worst and be ready for when it happens.

Everyone stay safe and don't forget to drink water!

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