A potentially dangerous situation was thwarted last month in Oldsmar, Florida, thanks to an alert water-treatment plant operator. According to a report in IWCE Urgent Communications, a hacker infiltrated the computer system of the Tampa-area water-treatment plant and made a change to the lye level in the system.
“After the intruder increased the parts per million from 100 to 11,100, the intruder exited the system, and the plant operator immediately reduced the level back to the appropriate amount of 100,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.”Because the operator noticed the increase and lowered it right away, at no time was there a significant effect on the water being treated. Importantly, the public was never in danger.”
Still, as a result of the incident, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sent a message to all community water systems recommending that they take steps to minimize network vulnerability, local news sources reported.
Here at BAYCOM, we know that the Rajant Kinetic Mesh™ Network offers some of the highest levels of encryption and protection of data. With Rajant mesh, you can have secure high-capacity connectivity throughout the communications network to support a variety of high bandwidth applications, including video surveillance, video conferencing, and voice-over-IP, which allows you to monitor critical facilities and comply with security requirements.
“Not only can Rajant mesh help protect against intrusion by bad actors, it also protects the security of data that utilities need to meet other objectives,” said BAYCOM Business Development Manager Dan Severud. “Because the mesh nodes are placed on both stationary and mobile assets across the utility’s footprint—in some cases, many miles apart—the sensor data can be used to remotely monitor equipment health, for example, and enable predictive maintenance of pumps and lifts and stations that might otherwise require manual, visual inspection.”
Rajant Kinetic Mesh Networks also help to improve water utility efficiency and service by enabling:
- Command and control of pumps and lifts
- Real-time remote data and application access
- Upgrades to existing SCADA systems
- Water conservation
- Access control security
- Enhanced customer service
Learn more about how Rajant Kinetic Mesh works by viewing this short video on our website.
Contact us at 800-726-5426 to learn more about how Rajant Kinetic Mesh Networks may help you address communication and security challenges.