29 Dec (NucNet): South Korea’s nuclear power operator has said cyber-attacks on non-critical operations at its headquarters are continuing, but the country’s nuclear power stations are operating safely and are secure from attack.
Cho Seok, president and chief executive officer of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, said the company had been stepping up its cybersecurity. He gave no details of the continued attacks or the company’s response, but said cyber-attacks could not be totally prevented.
He said there was no risk to nuclear installations, including the country’s 23 commercially operational nuclear reactors.
“We cannot let cyber-attacks stop nuclear power operation,” Mr Cho told a news briefing, the transcript of which was released online. He said a closed network used for reactor operations was inaccessible from external communication lines and impervious to cyber-attacks. “We will continue operating nuclear plants safely against any attempted foul play.”
KHNP, part of state-run utility Korea Electric Power, said last Monday that its computer systems had been hacked but only non-critical data had been stolen, and reactor operations were not at risk. Mr Cho apologised for concerns that had been raised by the cyber-attack and data leaks.
Since last Wednesday the operator and the government have had emergency teams on standby as a precaution, after a hacker demanded the shutdown of three reactors and in Twitter messages threatened “destruction” if the demand was not met.
