Nuclear Body Responds To Data Breach Concerns At India’s Largest Reactor
Regulator says reactor safety remains unaffected despite breach concerns.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has sought to reassure the public following reports of a data breach linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, stating that the incident has no impact on the plant’s nuclear safety or security systems. The clarification came after reports that a ransomware group had published files allegedly connected to the facility on the dark web.
NPCIL Acting Chairman and Managing Director Rajesh V said the compromised information related only to common service balance-of-plant systems and not to critical nuclear operations. He emphasised that the leaked data had no connection with the reactor’s safety or security infrastructure, seeking to allay concerns about the operational integrity of India’s largest nuclear power plant.
According to earlier reports, the ransomware group known as World Leaks claimed to have published documents allegedly linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The files reportedly included blueprints of certain facilities, supplier information, inspection records, and equipment reviews. However, the authenticity of the leaked documents has not been independently verified, and there is no indication that they involve the reactor’s core systems supplied by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom.
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A contractor associated with the project reportedly acknowledged a partial breach involving server data hosted at a third-party data centre but did not specify the nature or extent of the compromised information. Cybersecurity experts have noted that while the reported breach may not have affected reactor operations, the exposure of infrastructure-related documents could raise broader concerns about cybersecurity and protection of sensitive industrial information.
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, located in Tamil Nadu, is India’s largest nuclear power facility with a planned total generation capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Operated by NPCIL, the government-owned corporation responsible for building and managing commercial nuclear power plants, the facility plays a significant role in the country’s electricity generation and energy security.
This is not the first cybersecurity incident linked to the Kudankulam facility. In 2019, NPCIL reported detecting malware on one of its computers but stated that the infection did not affect the plant’s operational or control systems. The latest incident has once again highlighted the importance of strengthening cybersecurity measures for critical infrastructure, even as officials maintain that the plant’s nuclear safety remains uncompromised.
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