Federals who tracked hackers who tried to poison the city of Florida’s water supply

A shocking case of hacking has been uncovered in Pinellas County, Florida. Federal investigators are trying to remotely prosecute the person who tried to poison a public water supply.

Investigators say a plant operator overseeing the water plant in the town of Oldsmar, Tampa Bay, noticed non-compliance as of Friday morning.

The hacker controlled the mouse of the computer system, opening various functions on the screen and changing the sodium hydroxide in the water supply from about 100 parts per million to more than 11,100 parts per million.

“This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “Sodium hydroxide, also known as bleach, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners.”

If ingested in large amounts, sodium hydroxide can cause vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Fortunately, inside the water treatment plant, the plant operator immediately reduced the levels to what was safe.

Now, the Secret Service and FBI cyber units are trying to determine who is behind the hacking and whether it was someone in the United States or abroad. It occurred just two days before the super Bowl in a city about 30 miles from Raymond James Stadium.

“But the important thing is to warn everyone … That’s a bad thing. The actors are there, it’s happening,” said Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel.

Cyber ​​experts warn that hackers have already entered infrastructure before, but doing something dangerous changes the calculation.