Authorities are looking for a cyber crook who attempted to poison the water supply of a city in Florida.

Oldsmar in Florida is consistently rated as one of the safest places to live in the state of Florida, but all that could have changed if an unknown computer hacker had their way.

According to staff working at the water treatment plant for Oldsmar, a hacker managed to gain control of a remote desktop application called TeamViewer which had been installed on an employee’s computer at the facility. The application would normally allow employees to troubleshoot issues and problems remotely.

However, as with all remote desktop software, there is an inherent risk that they could inadvertently get taken over by crooks, handing them control instead. The cyber intruder, who is yet to be identified, managed to use their access to leapfrog to other important controls inside the network, including one that controlled what chemicals enter the city’s water supply.

The crook, in only a matter of minutes, went about increasing the water supply’s sodium hydroxide (NaOH) levels to dangerous amounts. In small doses, sodium hydroxide is used to treat water and remove heavy metals. In higher doses it can be dangerous to humans.

Were the residents of Oldsmar ever at any real risk?

No. For three reasons.

Firstly, as anyone who has used remote desktop software can attest, when using these sorts of applications, the actions by the person remotely logged in are reflected in real time on the computer they’re connected to, including mouse movements. This allowed staff at the facility to spot the intrusion straight away, and as such they instantly reversed the changes may by the intruder.

Secondly, there are systems in place at the facility to detect if the water supply has become dangerous for consumption, so if the intrusion hadn’t been spotted, employees would have still known something was wrong with the water at the treatment plant.

And thirdly, there is a 24-36 hour delay between water leaving the treatment plant before it enters the water supply system. Ample time for employees to solve any issues before tainted water reached the residents of Oldsmar.

So far no arrests have been made and The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Secret Service are all investigating the incident.