South Korean nuclear plant hack leads to cyber-attack drills

The drills are designed to gauge the plants’ resistance to potential cyber attacks after a suspected hacker tweeted information from nuclear firm Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). The information leaked included blueprints of reactors, details on cooling systems and radiation exposure, and personal data of 10,000 employees.

“The two-day drill is under way through simulators to ensure the safety of our nuclear power plants under cyber-attacks,” KHNP spokesman Kim Tae-Seok told the Guardian.

The hacker, posting under the account ‘president of the anti-nuclear reactor group’, tweeted threats warning the public to “stay away” from three reactors if they weren’t shut down before Christmas. They added that more information could be leaked.

An investigation has been launched but the hacker has not yet been identified. The information accessed was from two plants south-east of Seoul (Gori and Wolseong), according to deputy energy minister Lee Kwan-Sup. He added that the reactors remained safe, the Guardian reports.

KHNP, part of the state-controlled Korea Electric Power Corp, is responsible for 30 percent of South Korea’s electricity and operates 23 nuclear reactors across the country.

The tests form part of the country’s efforts to protect itself against potential hacks from North Korea after it reportedly targeted South Korea’s banks and hacked into Sony, leaking confidential company emails and leading to the withdrawal of US film The Interview – perceived by Pyongyang to be against North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un – amid terrorist threats. Pyongyang has denied the Sony hack and issued a threat to the US warning against sanctions.

It hasn’t been confirmed if there is any link between the nuclear power plant hack and the Sony attack, but according to the FBI there was a “significant overlap” between that and other North Korean cyber-crime, the Guardian reports.