Hacker Tries to Poison American Town’s Water Supply

Hackers have attempted to poison the water supply of a small Florida town through TeamViewer.

With the attack on the water purification system in the town of Oldsmar, the hackers in question tried to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in the water.

The 15,000 people who depend on the plant for their water would consume up to 100 times more sodium hydroxide than normal.

Using the TeamViewer remote tool, the attack happened over the Internet, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference about the incident. In this way, the attackers were able to take over the machine that manages the amounts of sodium hydroxide in the water.

The chemical must increase the pH level of the water in low doses so that fewer metals dissolve in it. However, in high doses it is poisonous, resulting in rashes or burns.

The increase in the chemical was discovered in time by an employee who immediately reversed it, the sheriff. He also emphasizes that there are other safety measures in place to ensure that poisoned water, something we mainly associate with Batman’s enemies, does not reach the people in real life (unless you live in Flint of course).

It is currently unclear who is behind the attack, and why specifically the water supply of a small Florida town was targeted.