Special Report: Hacker Intrusion of Florida Treatment Facility Attempted to Raise Levels of Caustic Lye in Water Supply

Little is known about the intrusion aside from the hacker's unauthorized entry via TeamViewer, Sheriff brands the attack "sophisticated" although some infosec pros disagree

A press conference hosted by Pinellas County, Florida, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, which included Mayor Eric Seidel and City Manager Al Braithwaite of the 15,000-person City of Oldsmar, laid out details of an intrusion of the city’s water treatment system during which a hacker tried to change the city’s water supply levels of sodium hydroxide from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or caustic soda, the main ingredient in drain cleaners, regulates the PH level of water in low concentrations. In high concentrations, it’s deadly.