In a shocking turn of events, that reminds a scene from a crime thriller, a hacker remotely accessed a water treatment plant in Florida and tried to poison the water supply, according to local police.
The intrusion occurred at a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, which is home to about 15,000 people, according to police. Last Friday, an operator at the facility noticed some suspicious activity: an unknown user had remotely gained access to a computer system that controls chemical processes at the plant.
According to reports, the hackers gained access to one of the employee’s computers via TeamViewer, a popular tool used for remote control or file transfer between computers. The unlawful intrusion incident took place on February 5, 2021.
The mysterious culprit spent three to five minutes accessing various functions on the computer, including one that controls how much sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is added to the water.
However, the good news was no one harmed by the act although the news has raised questions on how hackers got access to highly secured public infrastructure.
The police further briefed that small amounts of sodium hydroxide are mixed with the water, however, increasing the levels can be dangerous for consumption.
“The hacker changed the sodium hydroxide from about one hundred parts per million to 11,100 parts per million,” the sheriff said.
The water facility employee alerted the company on time, and the sodium hydroxide levels were reversed before it could do any harm.
