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Associated Press/Photo by Pinellas County Sheriff’s OfficePinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri (right) speaks at a news conference in Oldsmar, Fla., with Mayor Eric Seidel on Monday.Cyberattack targets local water supply
by Kent Covington
Posted 2/09/21, 05:07 pm
A hacker on Friday took control of a computer system and tried to release dangerous levels of sodium hydroxide into the water supply in Oldsmar, Fla., law enforcement officials revealed. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told Fox News that his department was working with the FBI and other government agencies to get to the bottom of the attack.
Did the hacker do any harm? A supervisor noticed the cursor on a computer screen tampering with settings for the chemical, and he immediately reversed the change. Officials warned other city leaders in the Tampa Bay region, which hosted the Super Bowl on Sunday. Experts say hackers can easily target municipal water and other systems.
Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about December hack attacks on critical U.S. agencies.
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Kent Covington
Kent is a reporter and news anchor for WORLD Radio. He spent nearly two decades in Christian and news/talk radio before joining WORLD in 2012. He resides in Atlanta, Ga. Follow him on Twitter @kentcovington.
Comments
OldMike
Posted: Sat, 02/13/2021 12:40 amI don't think this is a new previously unheard of thing. I've been convinced for years someone has been drugging the water supplies of a good bit of Southern California including L.A., along with the water supplies of Sacramento and the San Francisco/Bay Area. Only possible explanation for the behavior of a lot of Californians.