India's largest nuclear power plant suffers cyberattack

The malware was identified in NPCIL’s system.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NCPIL) has confirmed a cyberattack in India’s largest power plant, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu, India, in September.

NCPIL was informed by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) on 4 September 2019, according to a statement.

The matter was immediately investigated by specialists from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), said NCPIL.

“The investigation revealed that the infected PC belonged to a user who connected to the internet-connected network used for administrative purposes. This is isolated form the critical internal network. The networks are being continuously monitored,” it added.

Plant systems, on the other hand, are not affected. Initially, the matter was denied by the authorities after public accounts pointed to a cyberattack in the KKNPP. 

Photo by indiawaterportal.org from India - The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), CC BY-SA 2.0