Hacker tried to contaminate the water of a town in Florida

Un hacker altered the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water in an aqueduct in Pinellas, on the west coast of Florida. However, the authorities managed to stop the poisoning in time.

It all started in the first week of February when a hacker managed to enter the system that manages the aqueduct of the town of Oldsmar. There, it increased levels of sodium hydroxide, known as caustic soda. Local Sheriff Bob Gualtieri reported that staff overseeing the chemicals added to treat water, in this case caustic soda to control acidity, noticed the alteration and immediately reversed the damage.

Authorities, including federal ones, say they have already started an investigation. So far there are no suspects in the event. They do not know if it was an attack carried out from the United States or outside the country.

Hacking an aqueduct

The hacker He managed to log into the water plant’s computer network and spent up to five minutes in the system, altering the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water from 100 parts per million to 11,100. This substance, which is essential to control an alkaline environment or regulate the acidity of the water, becomes corrosive and dangerous if it is administered in high form.

Thanks to the immediate warning of the attack, the mayor assured that at no time was the public in danger or was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated. After the fact, the authorities warned about the danger that hackers represent for the infrastructure of the United States.

Alert in other cities

The county issued an alert to authorities in other municipalities and cities in Florida, especially where the Super Bowl was being held, and advised them to verify their remote access systems.

For his part, the mayor of Oldsmar, Eric Seidel, said that the system operators were attentive to these changes and it was also evidenced that the established protocols work and can respond to this type of anomaly in the water supply.

“The protocols we have in place, the monitoring protocols, work, that’s the good news. Even if they hadn’t detected them, there are redundancies in the system that would have detected the change in pH level, ”Seidel highlighted.

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