Hacker tried to contaminate Florida city’s water supply, sheriff says – By Steven Musil (CNET) / Feb 8 2021
Attack occurred 20 miles from site of the Super Bowl, two days before the game was to be played.
A hacker gained remote access to a Florida city’s water treatment plant in an attempt to contaminate the city’s supply of water with a harmful chemical, authorities said Monday.
The unknown hacker breached the computer system at the Oldsmar water plant on Friday and briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water supply from about 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference. Oldsmar — a suburb of Tampa with fewer than 14,000 residents — is about 20 miles from Raymond James Stadium, were the Super Bowl was played on Sunday.
“This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase,” Gualtieri said. “Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners.”
Sodium hydroxide is used to treat water acidity, but if it’s ingested in large quantities, it can cause spontaneous vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, and difficulty swallowing, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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