The FBI, Secret Service and Florida law enforcement are looking for one or more suspects they say tried to change the water composition of a local city in a failed attempt to add a potentially caustic chemical by remotely accessing the computer system. at a treatment plant serving the entire city, officials said.
An Oldsmar water treatment plant operator thwarted a hacker’s attempt to raise the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water to “dangerous levels” on Friday afternoon, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during an interview. press conference on Monday. Federal partners have since joined forces to investigate the case.
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The FBI and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office had no updates on the case on Tuesday morning.
“At the moment, we have no identified suspects, but we have clues that we are following,” said Gualtieri on Monday. “We do not know now whether the breach originated in the United States or outside the country. We also do not know why the Oldsmar system was targeted and we are not aware of any other systems being accessed illegally.”
Oldsmar is approximately 15 miles from Tampa and is home to just under 15,000 people.
The hacker first breached the system at around 8 am on Friday morning, but did so only briefly before logging off. A plant operator on duty noticed the “brief” remote access, but was not particularly concerned because supervisors “regularly” access computers remotely to monitor the system, officials said.
But around 1:30 pm that same day, “someone remotely accessed the computer system again, and it appeared on the operator’s screen with a mouse being moved to open various software functions that control the treated water,” said Gualtieri.
In this screenshot of a YouTube video posted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri speaks during a news conference while Oldsmar, Florida, Mayor Eric Seidel, left, listens, Monday , February 8, 2021, in Oldsmar, Florida (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
((Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via AP))
The hacker took control of the system for a period of 3 to 5 minutes, he said. They opened a function that controls the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water – changing the amount from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million, said Gualtieri.
“This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase. Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners, ”he continued. “It is also used to control the acidity of the water and remove metals from drinking water in water treatment plants.”
The hacker left the system shortly after changing parts per million, and officials say the plant operator “immediately reduced the level back to the proper amount”.
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The treatment plant supplies water directly to Oldsmar’s businesses and homes, officials said, but the affected water would not have reached the Oldsmar public until 24 to 36 hours later and was checked several times before that. Oldsmar’s water system can no longer be accessed remotely, said Gualtieri. The public was never in danger.
Sodium hydroxide is often used to control acid levels in water and can cause burns or irritation, among other adverse reactions when it reaches a certain level.
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After Monday’s announcement, Senator Marco Rubio said he would ask the FBI “to provide all necessary assistance”.
“This should be treated as a national security issue,” he added.