By Brett Milam
Editor

An attempt was apparently made to hack into the city of Milford’s water system earlier this month, Michael Doss, city manager, confirmed to The Sun.

“The hack did corrupt one of the water department desktop computers,” Doss added.

On the popular Facebook group, Milford OH Neighborhood Group, a rumor went around that the city’s Water Department was being held for ransom for one million bitcoins, and that the city can’t get the system back.

However, Doss said the hack did not breach the city’s water system and “since there was no compromise of the water system, the city continues to collect, treat, and distribute water efficiently and effectively.”

Police Chief Jamey Mills confirmed to The Sun the attempted hack and that he forwarded the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In the offense report, Officer Julie Liming states that she responded to the Milford Water Department at 101 Race Street to speak with Joe Casteel, the Department’s supervisor.

On July 2, Casteel said he noticed that the computer system program normally on display had been minimzed and observed the mouse pointer on the screen moving.

The computer uses a program called Supervisory Control and Data Aquisition, which controls the water pumps in the water treatment facility. If the system were to be disabled, the city would only have the water in the tower to provide water for the 7,000 residents of the city until the pumps were back online.

That SCADA program was minimized and “someone was opening various screens in the operating system of the computer.”

Casteel said someone was in the process of opening a menu to disconnect the computer from the internet; however, he was able to take control of the mouse and prevent the disconnect.

Contrary to the Internet rumor, Liming said there were no ransom demands.

Casteel further said it’s possible that someone accessed the system by typing or mistyping in the IP address, “which could have been accidental.”

Forwarding the matter to local support agencies in the region, such as the FBI, the ICE Tipline for the Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio State Highway Patrol Central Intelligence Center, was a “precautionary measure,” according to the report.