Operators of nuclear power plants worldwide are "struggling" to adapt
to the increasing and potentially dangerous threat of cyber-attacks, a
report warned Monday.
The nuclear industry "is beginning - but
struggling - to come to grips with this new, insidious threat," the
Chatham House think-tank in London said in a study based on 18 months of
investigation.
Its findings suggest that nuclear plants "lack
preparedness for a large-scale cyber-security emergency, and there would
be considerable problems in trying to coordinate an adequate response."
It
highlighted insufficient funding and training, a "paucity" of
regulatory standards, increasing use of digital systems and greater use
of cheaper but riskier commercial "off-the-shelf" software.
In
addition there is a "pervading myth" that nuclear power plants are
protected because they are "air gapped" - in other words not connected
to the Internet.
In fact, many nuclear facilities have gradually
developed some form of Internet connectivity, and computer systems can
be infected with a USB drive or other removable media devices.
This
was the case with Stuxnet, a virus reportedly developed by the United
States and Israel - and implanted with a flash drive - which caused
Iran's nuclear facilities major problems in 2010.
Chatham House
added that Stuxnet, which it said is also believed to have infected a
Russian nuclear plant, has had the unintended effect of teaching cyber
criminals how to improve their techniques.
"Once Stuxnet's
existence became publicly known, hackers around the world took
inspiration from the way it functioned and incorporated some of its
features into malware to suit their own purposes," it said.
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