

Then, just two months later, in June 2020, attackers hit two additional Israeli water management facilities. In April 2020, hackers broke into an Israeli water system and tried to modify the water’s chlorine levels. This is not the first time that cyber-attackers have tried to compromise a water treatment plant or other critical infrastructure. The identity of the attacker remains unknown, as does the origin of the attack. The FBI and Secret Service also have been called in to investigate.Īt a news conference on February 8, Oldsmar City Manager Al Braithwaite said that the remote access program had been disabled, and that the city will look for a replacement. The plant employee immediately re-adjusted the levels and alerted his supervisor, who then called the police. Used at high levels, the chemical can be dangerous, and could have rendered Oldsmar’s water both unpotable and even dangerous to touch. Sodium hydroxide also is the primary ingredient in liquid drain cleaners. Sodium hydroxide is used in small amounts to help reduce acidity, manage PH levels and remove metals. This time, the remote hacker had commandeered the mouse to increase the level of lye, or sodium hydroxide, being added to the water, raising it from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million. Later that afternoon, the employee saw the activity again. That morning, a plant employee reportedly noticed that his mouse was moving independently, but didn’t think much about it.

TeamViewer allows users to remotely access computers, and was used at the plant to trouble-shoot parts of the plant’s computerized systems. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri reported that the unidentified attacker hacked into a remote access program called TeamViewer on February 5. Just two days before one of the largest annual sporting events in the world-the National Football League’s Super Bowl LV on February 7-a cyber-attacker compromised a remote-access program at a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, in an attempt to poison the town’s water supply. Forensic Accounting & Commercial Damages.- Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.- Risk Management, Governance & Compliance.


Engineering & Construction Delay & Disruption.
