Image Courtesy: NBC News
According to US media, a hacker gained access to a water treatment plant in the San Francisco Bay Area in January and destroyed programmes needed to clean drinking water. In the most recent intrusion on an American facility, the hacker used a former employee’s login and password to enter into the system on January 15 and change the settings. The next day, the security compromise was discovered, and the California facility updated the procedures and reinstalled the applications.
According to NBC, the hacker, whose identity and motivations are unknown, “tried to poison” the water in an area near Silicon Valley, the world’s centre of high technology and software innovation. It referenced a “private report” written in February by the regional intelligence centre. The facility was not identified in the study.
The Executive Director of the centre, Michael Sena, confirmed the hacking event but denied the accusation of an effort to poison the facility, telling The San Francisco Chronicle, “No one attempted to contaminate our water. That is not correct.”
Moreover, The hacker allegedly gained access to the water treatment plant’s system by using the former employee’s TeamViewer account information. TeamViewer enables a person to remotely access another person’s computers and other devices. During the epidemic, the software has grown in popularity and is extensively utilised by employees working from home.
In February, a hacker attempted to seize control of another Florida water treatment facility. In one case, the hacker gained access to a TeamViewer account associated with the facility and was able to raise the quantities of lye in the drinking water to dangerous levels. An employee seized the mouse of a computer that was moving on its own and prevented a tragedy from occurring. Furthermore, According to local officials, the hacker had access to the system for three to five minutes.
