Hackers targeting nuclear power plants across the U.S.

July 7, 2017
None of the utilities that operate nuclear plants report that the security of their operations has been affected

omputer hackers have been targeting nuclear power plants in the U.S. and elsewhere — including Wolf Creek outside of Burlington in eastern Kansas — the New York Times reports.

The Times cited security consultants and a so-called urgent joint report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week.

The report did not indicate whether the cyberattacks were an attempt at stealing industrial secrets or part of a plan to cause destruction, the Times wrote.

Wolf Creek officials told the Times that while they could not comment on cyberattacks or security issues, no “operations systems” were affected and that their corporate network and the internet were separate from the network that runs the plant.

None of the 99 electric utilities that operate nuclear plants in the United States have reported that the security of their operations has been affected by the latest attacks, John Keeley, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, told the Times.

Nuclear facilities are required to report cyberattacks that relate to their “safety, security and operations.”

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