India's largest nuclear plant suffers data breach, blueprints of facility leaked on dark web
PTC News Desk: A ransomware group called World Leaks has claimed responsibility for a major data breach involving India's largest nuclear power plant, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. The group has uploaded a large number of files on the dark web, including what it says are blueprints of some plant facilities and supplier details. The hackers claimed the data came from Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is India's biggest nuclear facility and plays a key role in the country's plans to increase nuclear power generation. Reliance Group, one of the contractors working on the project, confirmed that there had been a partial data breach involving a server hosted by third-party data centre company Yotta. The company said it has informed the government about the incident but did not reveal what information was accessed.
Cybersecurity experts have warned that the leaked data could pose a serious security risk if sensitive information has been exposed. A source familiar with the matter said the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is in touch with Reliance over the breach, while the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is investigating the incident.
The leaked documents do not appear to include information related to the nuclear reactors' core systems, which are supplied by Russia's state-owned company Rosatom. However, the files reportedly contain blueprints of the ventilation and cooling systems for Units 3 and 4, along with what appears to be the floor plan of a common control room.
The incident also highlights India's growing cybersecurity challenges. According to cybersecurity company Surfshark, India ranked third globally in data breaches last year, with nearly 28.9 million accounts compromised, behind only the United States and France.
Suspicious activity in May
A separate report by the Data Security Council of India and cybersecurity firm Seqrite found that 73% of the 204 organisations surveyed did not know whether they had ever suffered a cyberattack, while 57% lacked basic cybersecurity practices.
This is not the first cyber-related incident involving the Kudankulam plant. In 2019, malware linked to a North Korean hacking group was detected on the plant's administrative network. At the time, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India said the issue was investigated immediately and that the plant's operational systems were not affected.
- With inputs from agencies
