NPCIL denies sensitive data breach at Kudankulam nuclear power plant

NPCIL said the information claimed to be available in the public domain pertains only to Balance of Plant common service facilities and does not relate to any nuclear related information

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) on Thursday denied reports of a sensitive data breach at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), following media reports that a ransomware group had accessed files related to the project through the server of one of its contractors.

 

In a statement, NPCIL said the information claimed to be available in the public domain pertains only to conventional Balance of Plant (BoP) common service facilities and does not relate to any nuclear safety or nuclear security-related systems or information.

 

What did NPCIL say about the alleged breach?

 

NPCIL said the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the Common Services–Balance of Plant (BoP) package was awarded to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd in 2018 through a public tender process.

 

 

According to the corporation, the contract covers the engineering, procurement/supply, construction and commissioning of common service facilities. These facilities are conventional in nature and are typically found in thermal power plants and other process industries. They are not related to nuclear safety or nuclear security systems.

 

NPCIL said that, as part of the public tendering process, it had provided indicative drawings and technical specifications to bidders. Based on these inputs and the project's requirements, Reliance Infrastructure prepared detailed engineering drawings in consultation with the respective Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The designs were reviewed and accepted by NPCIL after ensuring they met the required technical specifications.

 

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, located in Tamil Nadu, is India's largest nuclear power station and is central to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to expand the country's nuclear power generation capacity.

 

What do the leaked files reportedly contain?

 

Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that ransomware group World Leaks had published a large cache of files related to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project on the dark web. The files reportedly include purported blueprints of parts of the plant's facilities and supplier details, which the group claimed were obtained from the Reliance Group.

 

Earlier, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group had told Reuters that there had been a 'partial breach' of data on a server hosted by third-party data centre service provider Yotta. The company said the government had been informed about the incident but did not disclose what data had been compromised.