Seoul prosecutors investigate data leak at nuclear plant operator
South Korean officials probe leak of data from nuclear power plant operator in the wake of cyberattacks on Sony Pictures in the US blamed on Pyongyang
Seoul prosecutors have launched an investigation of a leak of non-critical data at South Korea’s nuclear power operator, the prosecutors’ office said on Sunday, as worries mount about nuclear safety and potential cyberattacks from North Korea.
An official with the prosecutors’ office confirmed media reports that they had traced the location of an IP address linked to the hacking incident and had dispatched investigators to the site.
She said she could not comment further on the case, including on whether North Korea might be behind the data leak, while an investigation was under way.
Concern over potential cyberattacks from North Korea has heightened since the hacking of Sony’s movie studio, which the United States has blamed on Pyongyang. North Korea has denied the accusations and called for a joint investigation into the incident with Washington.
Pyongyang has assembled an elite ‘cyber army’ and is seeking the ability to disrupt the infrastructure of its enemies, including telecoms and energy providers, defectors from the country have said.
Diagrams of several of South Korea’s 23 nuclear reactors have been posted on a Twitter account since the data leak last week, which included employees’ personal records, blueprints of nuclear plant equipment, electricity flow charts and estimates of radiation exposure among local residents. There was no evidence, however, that the nuclear control systems were hacked.