Think Tank Says Nuclear Industry is Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
A report from the think tank Chatham House said that nuclear power plants around the globe are vulnerable to cyberattacks and that the risk of cyber-oriented plant disasters is increasing.
The study said that cyber security at some nuclear power facilities is so lax that they rely on factory-set passwords to gain access. It also said that nuclear facilities are not isolated from the outside world, just because they are not hooked into the Internet. A virus can find its way to a nuclear power plant through a flash drive or a laptop computer. In addition, the report said, many nuclear facilities are “insecure by design,” simply because, due to their age, they were designed before cyberthreats were a major concern.