Feds detecting hacker trying to poison Florida city water supply

A shocking case of computer hacking has been discovered in Pinellas County, Florida. Federal investigators are trying to poison the person trying to poison a public water supply – remotely.

Investigators say a plant operator monitoring the water plant in the city of Oldsmar in Tampa Bay noticed violations Friday morning.

The hacker controlled the mouse from the computer system – he opened various functions on the screen and changed the sodium hydroxide in the water supply from about 100 parts per million to more than 11,100 parts per million.

“This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid effluent cleaners.”

If ingested in large amounts, sodium hydroxide can cause vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Fortunately, the installation of the plant within the water purification plant immediately reduced the levels to safe.

Now the Secret Service and FBI cyber units are trying to determine who is behind the hood and whether it was someone in the US or abroad. It has only two days before the Super Bowl in a city about 30 miles from Raymond James Stadium.

“But the most important thing is to keep everyone informed … It’s pretty bad. Actors are there, it’s happening,” said Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel.

Cyber ​​experts warn that hackers have ended up in infrastructure before – but did something dangerous – changing the calculus.