US authorities are investigating a computer security incident in which unidentified individuals gained access to computer systems of at least one nuclear power plant in the United States, the ABC TV channel reported on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.
“There is no evidence that any particularly sensitive or operational systems were breached. Instead, authorities believe only a less sensitive, business-associated side of systems were compromised,” the channel said, citing “sources familiar with the matter.”
It was not disclosed what NPP was under attack.
An investigation is under way, one official said. According to the channel, the “authorities are looking at the possibility that a nation-state may be behind the hack,” although there have been no official comments to date on who may be responsible.
According to Wall Street Journal, the US has the world’s highest number of various infrastructure objects connected to the Internet. Many of these facilities are privately owned, which makes them an easier target for various cyber attacks.
In December 2015, US media reported that in 2013 hackers managed to gain access to a computer system controlling a sluice gate of a dam near New York. The perpetrator gained the ability to release water from behind the dam via remote access, but could not do so, because the sluice gate had been manually disconnected for maintenance when the attack occurred.
In March 2016, the US Department of Justice said Iranian hackers were behind the incident.