India's largest platform and marketplace for AI & Analytics leaders & professionals

Sign in

India's largest platform and marketplace for AI & Analytics leaders & professionals
Become a Thought Leader
Become a 3AI Member

Sign in

3AI Digital Library

< Go Back

A hacker broke into a Florida Water Treatment Plant

3AI February 14, 2021

A hacker broke into a Florida water treatment plant and ordered it to increase the amount of lye to extremely dangerous levels, officials said.

.

A hacker broke into a Florida water treatment plant and ordered it to increase the amount of lye in the water to extremely dangerous levels, officials said Monday.

The plant operators noticed and remedied their systems before anyone was put in danger, but the event highlights the risks of internet-connected controls to civic infrastructure.

In a news conference Monday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that on Friday morning an unknown hacker broke into a program designed to help water treatment operators in Oldsmar troubleshoot problems with the computerized parts of their treatment systems. The program is intended to give full, remote access to a plant computer, but only by authorized users.

Later that afternoon, the system was breached again. A hacker, who authorities believe to be the same one from the initial breach, took control of the computer and changed the acceptable level of sodium hydroxide — better known as lye, the main ingredient in many household drain cleaners — from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million.

A water plant operator noticed immediately and corrected the change, Gualtieri said, adding that if the operator had missed it and the change didn’t trigger some of the plant’s alarms, the lye could have seeped into the water supply in 24 to 36 hours.

“Because the operator noticed the increase and lowered it right away, at no time was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated,” Gualtieri said.

Gualtieri said that he had no idea where the hacker was operating from but that he is working with the FBI and the Secret Service to find out.

Al Braithwaite, Oldsmar’s city manager, said at the news conference that the system that enabled remote access to the plant’s computers had been disabled and that the city planned to find a replacement.

Picture from freepik.com

    3AI Trending Articles

  • 2 Transportation related Stocks leading the New Wave with AI

    Technology is changing our world, with results visible in real time. If you grew up in the 1980s, watching reruns of Star Trek, think for a moment about fantastic gadgets that have walked off the screen and into our lives: portable communicators, portable computers, voice-activated systems, to name just a few. Scotty once even automated […]

  • Human Behavior & Human Data: Beyond Big Data

    In recent years, there has been a lot of hype around “big” data in the marketing world. Big data is extremely helpful with gathering quantitative information about new trends, behaviors and preferences, so it’s no wonder companies invest a lot of time and money sifting through and analyzing massive sets of data. However, what big data fails […]

  • Sebi is setting up a Cybersecurity Fusion Centre

    Establishing a cybersecurity fusion centre or a cyber lab is part of Sebi’s three-tier structure for monitoring cybersecurity-related events in the securities markets. . NEW DELHI: Markets regulator Sebi is in the process of setting up a cybersecurity fusion centre, a move aimed at detecting cyber threats faster and resolve such incidents efficiently and effectively. […]

  • Accentuating customer experience: Digital Chat Agents & Chatbots

    As e-commerce (and retail in general) becomes increasingly global and competitive, business leaders understand that AI can be a valuable tool in reconnecting with consumers. AI has the power to analyze huge amounts of data from numerous sources, including human behaviors and emotions. This can then be used to create more meaningful customer experiences. Take, […]