Hackers target US nuclear power plants and energy facilities
According to a report by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, hackers are targeting US nuclear power plants and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the US. Among the targets is the Wolf Creek nuclear facility in Kansas. It has been discovered that the hackers are mapping out computer networks for future attacks, looking for vulnerabilities, and it is believed they are working for a foreign government – with Russia being the chief suspect. However, investigators have been unable to analyse the malicious “payload” of the hackers’ code, which would reveal more details about what they are after.
Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries.

Among the companies targeted was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan., according to security consultants and an urgent joint report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week.

The joint report was obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by security specialists who have been responding to the attacks. It carried an urgent amber warning, the second-highest rating for the sensitivity of the threat.

The report did not indicate whether the cyberattacks were an attempt at espionage — such as stealing industrial secrets — or part of a plan to cause destruction. There is no indication that hackers were able to jump from their victims’ computers into the control systems of the facilities, nor is it clear how many facilities were breached.