If you ever needed another reason to stock up on extra supplies of water, here you go –
Last week, an as-yet unidentified hacker nearly poisoned the water supply for a significant area in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, by hacking into the control systems of the municipal water treatment authority, and using that access to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide (Lye) from 100 parts per million to about 11,000 parts per million.
Sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as lye, is a caustic agent that is a cleansing agent when used in small quantities, and extremely caustic and dangerous in larger quantities. Having directly worked with lye in the past, I for one can testify as to just how nasty it can be.
The hacker has yet to be identified, but given the complicated nature of the control systems used and the knowledge required to increase the distribution, this points to a.) a very sophisticated hacker (think nation-state sponsored), or b.) an inside job.
Either way, as we head into this new era of such attacks, it’s probably best to stock up on the basics.
