Hackers Attempt To Poison Florida Water Supply

EDITOR NOTE: If you tuned into this morning's news, you probably saw reports of the Florida water treatment hack that raised the sodium hydroxide content to exceedingly dangerous levels. Had it not been caught by an employee, countless Floridians jumping into the shower or drinking tap water this morning would have suffered a range of maladies from skin burns, blindness, breathing difficulties, and lung inflammation, to damages affecting the esophagus and stomach. Authorities have not been able to identify the bad actor(s); they can’t determine whether the hack originated from within or outside of the US; or whether it was just one hacker or a team of hackers. As the world becomes increasingly digitized, this type of high-risk incident will mark the new normal. If a single hacker or small group of hackers can hit America as “easily” as this, then there are countless targets across the entire country, big or small, that can also be hit. There is nothing that’s invulnerable to a cybersecurity attack. The only things that can’t be hacked are physical items whose access is not dependent on digital means. This brings us to the topic of “digital money.” When it comes to protecting your wealth from digital theft--or in the case of the government and central banks, digitally-facilitated debasement--your savings account is at risk. In fact, all of your "paper assets" existing in digital form are potential targets for theft, surveillance, or any kind of negative disruption. In contrast, only non-CUSIP gold and silver, stored safely in a private depository, may be considered safe from harm.

A hacker breached computer networks at a Oldsmar, Florida, water treatment plant, remotely delivering a 100-fold boost in a chemical that is highly dangerous in concentrated amounts.

In an attack, with potential harm to public health, the hacker on Feb. 5 gained access to a city computer and changed the level of sodium hydroxide - which is used to remove metals and control acidity - from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million according to 

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