Hackers targeting US nuclear facilities : report

Hackers have gained access to computer networks of companies operating nuclear power stations since May, a new report has revealed. Other energy facilities and manufacturing plants in the US and other countries have also been penetrated the report says.

The report issued jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week, said Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington Kansas was among the companies targeted.

The New York Times, which had obtained the joint report, and security specialists who had been responding to the attacks had confirmed the hack attack.

The report did not say whether the cyberattacks were an attempt at espionage, such as stealing industrial secrets or formed part of a plan to cause destruction.

It is not clear as to how many facilities were breached.

According to Wolf Creek officials, while they could not comment on cyberattacks or security issues, no ''operations systems'' had been affected and their corporate network and the internet were separate from the network that ran the plant.

The hackers could be positioning themselves to disrupt the power supply in the US, according to the officials, who noted that a general alert was distributed to utilities a week ago.

The hackers had also recently infiltrated an unidentified company that made control systems for equipment used in the power industry. Officials believe that the attack might be related.

According to commentators, the possibility of a Russia connection was especially worrisome, as Russian hackers had earlier taken down parts of the electrical grid in Ukraine and appeared to be testing increasingly advanced tools to disrupt power supplies.

The hacks come against the backdrop of increasing international tensions over US intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 presidential election.