Besides Kudankulam nuclear plant, ISRO targeted by cyber security breach: Report

Besides Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was alerted of a possible breach by suspected malware, The Indian Express reported.

On September 3, the National Cyber Coordination Centre was informed by a cybersecurity company based in US that a 'threat actor' had breached the master 'domain controllers' at the nuclear power plant and at ISRO with a malware, which was later identified as a 'Dtrack'.

ISRO and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), which operates the Kudankulam plant, were alerted the following day.

Earlier, it was believed that only Kudankulam plant had faced the threat.

The cyber breach at the Kudankulam plant became public on October 28. The power plant had allayed fears of a cyber-attack on its systems and said such attacks were not possible.

Also read: Opinion | Questions the alleged cyber-incident at Kudankulam Nuclear Plant raises

The plant’s Training Superintendent and Information Officer R Ramdoss had termed reports on social media about the cyber-attacks as 'false' and clarified that KKNPP and the other nuclear power plants' control systems were 'standalone' and not connected to any external cyber networks or the internet.

On October 29, NPCIL -- the public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy -- admitted to a malware attack on one of the computers at KKNPP. It added that the plant systems had not been affected.

The Kudankulam plant is an Indo-Russian joint venture. Units I and II of 1000 meter water equivalent capacity each have commenced commercial operations, while Units III and IV are under construction.