OLDSMAR, Fla. — Two years ago, ABC Action News reported how authorities were investigating an alleged cyber attack on the Oldsmar water treatment plant.
But Oldmar’s former city manager, and the FBI, now say the incident that sparked the concern was likely caused by an employee and that no cyber attack actually happened.
The alleged hack happened in February of 2021 and made international headlines as a critical infrastructure attack cybersecurity experts had been warning about for years. The hacker allegedly used a computer to take over the water system and poison the town’s water supply.
Former Oldsmar City Manager Al Braithwaite said this year it wasn’t a cyber attack.
“After four months of investigation, a federal grand jury subpoena, and some interesting exchange from the general counsel of the EPA, the FBI conclusion was it didn’t happen,” Braithwaite said during a cybersecurity panel discussion at the annual American Society for Public Administration conference in March.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that their investigation was not able to confirm the incident was initiated by a cyberintrusion.
In 2021, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a press conference to announce that a disaster had been averted after an unknown person gained remote access to the computer system that controlled Oldmar’s water treatment plant.
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Braithwaite said he called the state after the incident came to light.
“The state technology officers came in, not necessarily to tell us what happened but to identify our many, I admit it, our many vulnerabilities,” he said.
Sheriff Gualtieri said the remote access user raised levels of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, in the water. That’s the main ingredient in drain cleaners and is poisonous.
Braithwaite said it doesn’t appear anyone from outside the city was involved in the incident.
“It was originally reported as a non-event by the employee that at the end of the investigation was assumed to have caused it,” Braithwaite said. “The good news was he fixed it in two minutes, so it really went to the press as a non-event. But local law enforcement, then the state authorities, then every news outlet in the world all the way to India ran with it to say, 'Look at these yahoos who don’t know what they’re doing.'”
ABC Action News reached out to the City of Oldsmar and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for a response to the latest information.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is still open, and they have no comment.
The city of Oldsmar said safety and security is their biggest concern. They will not talk about anything related to infrastructure and referred us to law enforcement.
We also contacted Braithwaite on his cell phone, but he didn't immediately respond to our message.
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