Florida Water System Hack Offers Lessons for Other States
The Florida water system hack is still under investigation, but the worrisome details made national news and brought into question the security of the country’s critical, if oft-overlooked, infrastructure. by Michael Sol Warren, nj.com / April 19, 2021 Shutterstock/deepadesigns
Without warning, hackers breached the computer system operating the plant on
Feb. 5, boosting treatment chemicals to dangerous levels. A water operator at the plant could only watch as a remotely controlled mouse drifted across his computer screen, skyrocketing levels of lye a caustic chemical used to control water acidity and remove harmful metals from drinking water from the usual 100 parts per million to a highly toxic 11,100 parts per million.
N.J. water systems are exposed to hackers. A near-disaster in Florida shows the threat.
Updated 3:00 PM;
Earlier this year, the plot of a spy thriller unfolded at a Florida water treatment plant.
Without warning, hackers breached the computer system operating the plant on Feb. 5, boosting treatment chemicals to dangerous levels. A water operator at the plant could only watch as a remotely controlled mouse drifted across his computer screen, skyrocketing levels of lye a caustic chemical used to control water acidity and remove harmful metals from drinking water from the usual 100 parts per million to a highly toxic 11,100 parts per million.