- A hack that reportedly took place at a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, never really happened.
- An investigation conducted by the EPA and FBI found there was no evidence of an external breach.
- It seems that an employee was responsible for an increase in sodium hydroxide levels.
Over two years ago the US city of Oldsmar in Florida said that its water treatment plant had been hacked.
During the reported hack, an attacker allegedly raised the levels of sodium hydroxide, but the problem was quickly resolved. Now, years after the incident it has been revealed that actually, the Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar wasn’t hacked at all.
“After four months of investigation, a federal grand jury subpoena, and some interesting exchange from the general counsel of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], the FBI conclusion was it didn’t happen,” former Oldsmar City Manager, Al Braithwaite was quoted saying by ABC Action News in Tampa Bay.
The investigation determined that in fact an employee had caused the increase in the amount of sodium dioxide. This was fixed within two minutes according to Braithwaite who also criticised the response to the incident.
“The good news was he fixed it in two minutes, so it really went to the press as a non-event. But local law enforcement, then the state authorities, then every news outlet in the world all the way to India ran with it to say, ‘Look at these yahoos who don’t know what they’re doing,'” said the former city manager.
While we understand Braithwaite is embarrassed by this situation, this incident was incredibly concerning. Not only did it happen at at time when cybercrime was running rampant, the idea that cybercriminals were targeting infrastructure and in a manner that could cause harm, was very alarming.
No further information was given about the incident or what will happen to the employee who increased the levels of the caustic chemical in the water supply.
It’s great that this has been cleared up and that Oldsmar wasn’t ever in danger from a cybercriminal hoping to taint the water supply.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
