'Hack' of Oldsmar water plant reported two years ago could have been employee error

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Two years ago, Pinellas County deputies believed the tiny City of Oldsmar had been the victim of a hack that could have sent dangerous chemicals into the water supply.

Turns out, it might have actually been caused by an employee mistake. 

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri unleashed a torrent of national attention on the incident during a press conference held February 7, 2021.

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"Somebody hacked into the system," he said at the time. "Not just once, but twice and controlled the system, took control of the mouse."

Pictured: Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri during a 2021 news conference, giving details on a hack at the Oldsmar water plant.

And using that mouse, he said, the hacker instructed Oldsmar's water system to mess with an otherwise safe mixture of chemicals. An alert plant operator quickly fixed it.

"It would have taken between 24 and 36 hours for that water to hit the water supply system," Sheriff Gualtieri had said.

The city manager at the time, Al Braithwaite, stood alongside the sheriff at the press conference.

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"We are going to make some upgrades to other parts of the system to try to ensure it doesn't happen again," Braithwaite said at the time. 

Pictured: Former Oldsmar City Manager Al Braithwaite during a 2021 news conference, giving details on a hack at the city's water plant.

Now two years later, Braithwaite revealed the findings of a four-month FBI investigation to a cybersecurity panel discussion held by the American Society for Public Administration.

He said it included a subpoena from a Federal Grand Jury and conversation with the EPA.

"The FBI conclusion was it didn't happen," Braithwaite said. 

It's a low-key end to an incident that got the attention of Senator Marco Rubio and led a government agency to say the incident should be a warning to all treatment plants. 

READ: Man pleads not guilty in decades old Pinellas County cold case murder

The FBI released the following statement to FOX 13 on Tuesday: 

"Through the course of the investigation the FBI was not able to confirm that this incident was initiated by a targeted cyber intrusion of Oldsmar." 

"It was likely the employee, the same employee that was kind of purported to be a hero for catching it, was actually banging on his keyboard, which subsequently jettisoned the program through some of its tabs," Braithwaite told the conference. 

He said the employee, who likely didn't realize what he'd done, was not fired, because he reported it properly. But Braithwaite did say the buck should have stopped with him.

"I couldn't say that they screwed up, and there was some kind of accountability that needs to be dished out. I was more responsible for the fact, probably even though the computers were there before I became the manager, because I'm responsible for everything goes on there."

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The former city manager said that the levels were fixed quickly and that there were redundancies in place to stop the dangerous water from reaching the system.

Attempts to reach him for comment have not yet been successful.

His comments were first reported by the website GCN, which focuses on technology and how it impacts state and local government. 

The sheriff's office says the case is still open on their end and could not offer additional comment. The current city manager of Oldsmar, Felicia Donnelly, did not immediately respond to our request for comment.