DZone

Last Friday (5 February 2021), attackers gained access to the industrial control system (ICS) at a water treatment plant in a small town in Pinellas County, Florida. A plant operator caught the breach almost immediately, although the apparent hackers tried to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water supply to dangerous levels — from about 100 parts-per-million (ppm) to 11,100 ppm.

The attackers remotely took control of the mouse and the system using a legitimate application called TeamViewer, commonly used in industrial settings for remote access. The plant operator noticed the intrusion as it was happening and reversed the changes immediately — so, fortunately, the public was never at risk.

Source: DZone