News

Hacker Alters Chemical Levels at US City's Water Treatment Plant

Giulio Saggin
Giulio Saggin
Tuesday, 28 November 2023

In something resembling a movie plot, a hacker has remotely gained access to the water treatment plant in the Florida city of Oldsmar and briefly altered the level of chemicals entering the water.

"The hacker changed the sodium hydroxide from about 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million, said Oldsmar Sheriff Bob Gualtieri during a press conference (image below). "This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase."

(Sodium hydroxide, aka lye, is used in small amounts to control the acidity of, and remove metals from, drinking water. It is also an ingredient in household products such as liquid drain cleaners. Contact with sodium hydroxide can cause skin irritation, burns and hair loss, while ingestion can be fatal.)

Luckily, the actions of the hacker were spotted by an alert employee at the plant, who noticed the cursor on a computer screen moving as the hacker attempted to access software used in monitoring chemical levels. The hacker managed to alter the chemical levels and then disconnected, at which point the employee immediately reset the levels, potentially saving a catastrophe.

Despite the intrusion, which happened on Feb. 5, city officials confirmed that no affected water made it to the city's 15,000+ residents.

"The protocols that we have in place, monitoring protocols, they work — that’s the good news," said Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel. "Even had they not caught them, there (are) redundancies in the system that would have caught the change in the pH level."

Investigators are unsure who was behind the attack or from where it originated but, if caught, those involved will face state felony charges and, possibly, federal charges.

*Watch press conference with Oldsmar Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Never miss a vulnerability like this again

Sign up to SecAlerts for real-time vulnerability data matched to your software, aggregated from hundreds of sources.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2024 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203