--- title: "Hacker Infiltrates Water Treatment Plant, Attempts to Poison City" description: "A hacker remotely accessed a computer of Oldsmar, Florida's water treatment system and attempted to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide or lye 100 fold." date: "2021-02-08" modified: "2021-02-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hacker-water-treatment-plant-poison-city" categories: - "Cybersecurity" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "florida" - "hacker" - "hacking" - "the digest" --- # Hacker Infiltrates Water Treatment Plant, Attempts to Poison City ![A hacker remotely accessed a computer of Oldsmar, Florida's water treatment system and attempted to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide or lye 100 fold.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Water Hacker According to local law enforcement, a hacker remotely accessed a computer system at Oldsmar, Florida's water treatment plant and attempted to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide 100 fold, [the *Tampa Bay Times* reports]() — a chilling sign of how cybercrime can endanger lives in the real world. Sodium hydroxide, more commonly known as lye, is a corrosive compound used in small amounts to control the acidity of water. In high and undiluted concentrations, it can be lethal. Both local and federal authorities are now investigating after Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced the attack today. "I’m not a chemist," Gualtieri said at a news conference, according to the newspaper. "But I can tell you what I do know is... if you put that amount of that substance into the drinking water, it’s not a good thing." ## Lye to Me Luckily, the hack did not actually end up altering the water supply of the city, which has a population of about 15,000. "At no time was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated," Gualtieri said at the event, as quoted by the *Times*. "Importantly, the public was never in danger." Plant operators first noticed somebody was accessing the plant's system remotely last week, according to the paper, which wasn't deemed unusual as the system is routinely accessed remotely. The system was then accessed remotely again later the same day, prompting the intervention. The system is now shut off from any remote access, officials said at the press conference. Still, the episode highlights how vulnerable the connected systems at critical facilities can be. And that should be a wakeup call for the need for cybersecurity. **READ MORE:** [Someone tried to poison Oldsmar’s water supply during hack, sheriff says]() \[*Tampa Bay Times*\] **More on hacking:** *[A Hacker Reportedly Gained Access to Tesla’s Entire Fleet]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()