Outsiders access Japanese nuclear reactor control room data

Hackers might have stolen private information from the Monju fast-breeder reactor offices, including internal e-mails and training records.

After New Year’s Day, a server administrator determined that one of the eight computers in the reactor control room had been accessed more than 30 times in the past five days after an employee updated free software on the PC on 12/26/13.

A virus likely infected the computer during the update and some data probably was stolen, investigators concluded, after finding traces of out-bound transmissions.  The requests appeared to have come from a website based in South Korea.

More than 42,000 e-mails and staff training reports were stored on the computer. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency currently is investigating how the infection occurred and identifying the data on the computer that could have been accessed.

In November 2013, the agency had been warned by the country’s nuclear regulator that its anti-terrorism measures were not up to snuff.

“The regulatory agency rebuked the JAEA for violating security guidelines meant to protect nuclear materials from terrorism and other malicious attacks,” Enformable reports. In November 2012, a computer at the JAEA headquarters was also found to be infected with a computer virus.

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