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Florida FBI, Secret Service, and Law Enforcement are looking for one or more suspects they believe attempted to change the water makeup of a local town in an unsuccessful attempt to add a chemical potentially caustic by accessing a processing plant’s computer system remotely. which serves the entire city, officials said.
An operator of the Oldsmar water treatment plant thwarted a hacker’s attempt to raise the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water to “dangerous levels” on Friday afternoon, the company said. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri at a press conference Monday. Federal partners have since joined forces to investigate the case.
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The FBI and Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office had no update on the case Tuesday morning.
“At the moment, we have no identified suspect, but we have leads that we are following,” Gualtieri said on Monday. “We don’t know at this time whether the breach is from the United States or outside the country. We also don’t know why the Oldsmar system was targeted and we have no knowledge of other systems that have been targeted. access illegally. “
Oldsmar is approximately 15 miles from Tampa and is home to just under 15,000 people.
The hacker first breached the system around 8 a.m. on Friday, but only did so momentarily before going offline. A factory operator on duty noticed the remote access “brief”, but was not particularly concerned as supervisors “regularly” access remote computers to monitor the system, officials said.
But at around 1:30 p.m. that same day, “someone again remotely accessed the computer system, and it appeared on the operator’s screen with a mouse moved to open various software functions that control the water in. course of treatment, ”Gualtieri said.
In this screenshot from a YouTube video posted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri speaks at a press conference as Oldsmar, Fla. Mayor Eric Seidel, left, listens, Monday, February 8, 2021, in Oldsmar, Fla. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
((Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via AP))
The hacker took control of the system for three to five minutes, he said. They’ve opened up a feature that controls the amount of sodium hydroxide in water – changing the amount from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million, Gualtieri said.
“This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners,” he continued. “It is also used to control the acidity of water and remove metals from drinking water in water treatment plants.”
The hacker left the system shortly after changing the parts per million, and officials say the plant operator “immediately brought the level down to the appropriate amount.”
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The treatment plant supplies water directly to businesses and homes in Oldsmar, officials said, but the affected water was not reportedly released to the public in Oldsmar until 24 to 36 hours later and has been checked several times before. Oldsmar’s water system is no longer accessible remotely, Gualtieri said. The public has never been in danger.
Sodium hydroxide is often used to manage acid levels in water and can cause burns or irritation, among other unwanted effects, when it reaches a certain level.
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Following Monday’s announcement, US Senator Marco Rubio said he would ask the FBI “to provide all necessary assistance.”
He added: “This should be treated as a matter of national security.”
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