The incident occurred Friday when an operator noticed the burglary and watched as the hacker remotely gained access to the system. According to the sheriff of Pinellas County, sheriff of Pinellas County, the hacker adjusted the level of sodium hydroxide to more than 100 times its normal levels.
The operator immediately dropped the level. At no point did Gualtieri have a significant adverse effect on the water supply in the city, and the public was never in danger. It is unknown whether the crime took place locally, nationally or even outside the United States.
“This is someone who, as it seems, is trying to do something bad. It’s a bad deed. It’s a bad actor,” Gualtieri said. “It’s not just ‘Oh – we’re putting a little chlorine – or a little fluoride, or a little something’, we’m basically talking about lye that forms you from 100 parts per million to 11,100. ‘
Early intervention prevented the attack from having serious consequences, said Robert M. Lee, CEO of Dragos Inc., an industrial cyber security company. But, he said, these kinds of attacks keep industry experts awake at night.
“It was not particularly sophisticated, but that’s exactly what people are worried about. As one of a few examples of someone trying to hurt people, it’s a big deal for that reason,” Lee said.
Gualtieri said it would take 24-36 hours for the water to reach the system, and that there were several retrenchments in place that warned the levels were too high before that happened. The city has taken steps to prevent further access to the system.
The Pinellas County Sheriff, the FBI and the Secret Service are investigating the offense, Gualtieri said. The FBI Tampa is working with the city of Oldsmar and the sheriff’s office in Pinellas County, providing resources and assistance in investigating this incident.
CNN reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Giumtieri said that sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid effluent purifier.
Long-term effects of poisoning depend on how quickly the poison in the system is diluted or neutralized. Damage to the esophagus and stomach can continue to occur for several weeks after the poison has been swallowed. Death can occur as long as a month later.
It is unknown whether the elevated levels in Oldsmar would have led to any of these symptoms.
Oldsmar, a city of about 15,000 people in Pinellas County, is about 17 miles west of Tampa.
CNN’s Rishi Iyengar and Brian Fung contributed to this report.