Posted on 02/11/2021 10:05:15 AM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
U.S. law enforcement officials are investigating a hacker’s unsuccessful attempt to tamper with a Florida city’s water supply, an event that cybersecurity professionals view as yet another wake-up call that should cause the government to examine its role in protecting critical infrastructure from more skillful attackers.
On Monday, local officials from the city of Oldsmar and the surrounding Pinellas county said a “bad actor” used software that provides remote access to a public water treatment facility to increase the level of sodium hydroxide—the main ingredient in drain cleaners, which is used in small quantities to adjust pH levels—to a dangerous amount.
An operator at the plant intercepted the unlawful intrusion within three to five minutes and there were other systems in place to avoid catastrophe, the local authorities said, but they cautioned others to pay attention, saying “everyone should be on notice.”
“The federal government should be involved with this at every step of the way,” Kiersten Todt, who served as a cybersecurity adviser to President Obama, told Nextgov Tuesday. “It should not be delegated to a local regulatory authority.”
(Excerpt) Read more at defenseone.com ...
Add the electric grid as a target as well.
Probably shouldn’t have those computers connected to the internet in the first place
I am a lot more concerned about water pipes breaking at vote counting centers.
Why, oh, why — on God’s Green Earth — would ANY responsible city water department put their plant on the internet?
Perhaps I am ignorant of the imperatives, but it seems Cosmically Stoopid.
Absolutly. Our defenses have been, and remain wide open and vulnerable for attack. Both from abroad and within.
“The federal government should be involved with this at every step of the way,” Kiersten Todt, who served as a cybersecurity adviser to President Obama, told Nextgov Tuesday. “It should not be delegated to a local regulatory authority.”
Oh yeah...that’ll help.
Weird that people(?) are just now seeing these as concerns. A lot of us have been saying it for decades. Ignored.
And those of us who do voice concerns decades ago were labeled as “conspiracy nuts”.
The idea of public utilities (amongst other things) being vulnerable to online hacking has been around for at least as long as I have been on FR ~20 yrs, so the fact that it happened just shows that we have braindead morons are in charge of these things.
Was gonna say - why can those computers be accessed remotely in the first place?
They need to restrict access.
Of course, since this is government, if they did that, they would lose or screw up the credentials...
“The federal government should be involved with this at every step of the way,” Kiersten Todt“
No. The Feds **** up every single thing they touch.
L
Could also be said for a number of systems, including vote tally machines.
In Government IT, knowing how to use the “ping” command qualifies one to be a “network engineer”.
I do electrical distribution design, so I certainly understand.
Quote~ “The federal government should be involved with this at every step of the way,” Kiersten Todt, who served as a cybersecurity adviser to President Obama, told Nextgov Tuesday. “It should not be delegated to a local regulatory authority.”
Because the federal government has such a great track record????
Actually given recent events, it may be the federal government that poses the greatest threat to America.
Why are any parts of our infrastructure on the internet?
Power, fuel and water worked fine before the internet.
We should go back.
“Why, oh, why — on God’s Green Earth — would ANY responsible city water department put their plant on the internet?
Perhaps I am ignorant of the imperatives, but it seems Cosmically Stoopid.”
Thats so all the government workers can work from home. Due to “covid” and all/s
One report on this incident said that the employee on duty was monitoring the system from home (due to the ongoing China flu hysteria) and watched helplessly as the lye measurement (ppm) was changed.
So who discovered this breech? Feds or local?
Seems it slipped by the feds only to be intercepted by locals:
“On Monday, .....(local officials)..... from the city of Oldsmar and the surrounding Pinellas county said a “bad actor” used software that provides remote access to a public water treatment facility....”
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