German Nuclear Plan Suffers from Cyber Attack

German Nuclear Power Plant Suffers from Cyber Attack

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Apr 27, 2016

Nuclear power plant security and cybersecurity are officials’ top priorities since the attacks in Brussels just a few months ago. During the tragic events at mass transit units, police found evidence that the terrorists were interested in gaining access to a nearby nuclear power plant; a plan that could be catastrophic.

A cyber attack on a nuclear plan is not just a scenario anymore. On April 27, Gundremmingen, a German nuclear power plant, was discovered to have been infected with computer viruses. Upon further inspection, the viruses appear to not pose a threat to facility operations because they are isolated from the Internet, the station’s operation explained.

The viruses include “W32.Rammit” and “Conficker,” were discovered at the plant’s B unit in a computer system retrofitted in 2008 with data visualization software associated with equipment for moving nuclear fuel rods. W32.Rammit is designed to steal files from infected computers and targets Microsoft Windows software while Conficker is a malware able to spread through networks and copy itself to removable data drives.

Malware was also found on 18 removable data drives, mainly USB sticks, in office computers maintained separately from the plant’s operating systems.

The nuclear power plant has said it has increased its cybersecurity measures as a result of the discovery.


About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

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