• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Kai West, aka IntelBroker, indicted for cyberattacks causing $25M in damages

 | 

Cisco fixed critical ISE flaws allowing Root-level remote code execution

 | 

U.S. CISA adds AMI MegaRAC SPx, D-Link DIR-859 routers, and Fortinet FortiOS flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

CitrixBleed 2: The nightmare that echoes the 'CitrixBleed' flaw in Citrix NetScaler devices

 | 

Hackers deploy fake SonicWall VPN App to steal corporate credentials

 | 

Mainline Health Systems data breach impacted over 100,000 individuals

 | 

Disrupting the operations of cryptocurrency mining botnets

 | 

Prometei botnet activity has surged since March 2025

 | 

The U.S. House banned WhatsApp on government devices due to security concerns

 | 

Russia-linked APT28 use Signal chats to target Ukraine official with malware

 | 

China-linked APT Salt Typhoon targets Canadian Telecom companies

 | 

U.S. warns of incoming cyber threats following Iran airstrikes

 | 

McLaren Health Care data breach impacted over 743,000 people

 | 

American steel giant Nucor confirms data breach in May attack

 | 

The financial impact of Marks & Spencer and Co-op cyberattacks could reach £440M

 | 

Iran-Linked Threat Actors Cyber Fattah Leak Visitors and Athletes' Data from Saudi Games

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 50

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 529 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Iran confirmed it shut down internet to protect the country against cyberattacks

 | 

Godfather Android trojan uses virtualization to hijack banking and crypto apps

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • Security
  • Shocking, a German nuclear plant suffered a disruptive cyber attack

Shocking, a German nuclear plant suffered a disruptive cyber attack

Pierluigi Paganini October 10, 2016

A German nuclear plant suffered a disruptive cyber attack, the news was publicly confirmed by the IAEA Director Yukiya Amano.

According to the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Yukiya Amano, a nuclear power plant in Germany was hit by a “disruptive” cyber attack two to three years ago.

“This issue of cyber attacks on nuclear-related facilities or activities should be taken very seriously. We never know if we know everything or if it’s the tip of the iceberg.” Amano told Reuters Agency.

“This is not an imaginary risk,” added Amano who also participated in a meeting with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Amano confirmed that cyber attacks on nuclear plants are a serious threat, he did not provide further details of either incident.

Fortunately, the damages caused by the cyber attack on the German nuclear plant did not force the operators to shut down its processes but urged the adoption of additional precautionary measures.

“This actually happened and it caused some problems,” he said. “[the Germant plant] needed to take some precautionary measures.”

Amano added that is is the first time that the attack is discussed in public, he also reported a case in which an individual tried to smuggle a small amount of highly enriched uranium with the intent to build a so-called “dirty bomb.”

Be careful the attack was disruptive, not destructive, and believe me there is a substantial difference. The term disruptive refer a category cyber attacks that are able to destroy internal computer systems without causing the complete destruction of the plant. Examples of disruptive attacks are the attacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment and Stuxnet.

This isn’t the first time that we receive the news of cyber attacks on nuclear plants  There are three publically known attacks against nuclear plants:

  • Monju NPP (Japan 2014)
  • Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power plant (S.Korea 2014)
  • Gundremmingen NPP (Germany 2016).

It is likely that Amano was referring the cyber attack against the  Gundremmingen nuclear plant that occurred earlier this year. Security experts in that case, detected Conficker and Ramnit malware.

Security experts are aware of the possibility that hackers could cause serious problems to nuclear plants worldwide.

According to a report released in March, Germany is not adequately equipped to prevent terrorist attacks in its nuclear plants.

The report was presented by Oda Becker, an independent expert on nuclear plants.

This is of course extremely distressing, especially in the light of the recent tragic events in Belgium with substantial casualties.

The report was brought to public attention at the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) Congress, where concerns were expressed towards protecting citizens from catastrophic consequences of another terrorist attack.

germany nuclear plant vulnerable terrorism

 

Amano explained that the UN agency was supporting countries to improve the resilience of their infrastructure to cyber attacks with a series of measures.

“Amano said the U.N. agency was helping countries increase cyber and overall nuclear security through training and a detailed database that included information from 131 countries, and by providing them with radiation detection devices.” reported the Reuters.

“Since 2010, the IAEA said it had trained over 10,000 people in nuclear security, including police and border guards, and has given countries more than 3,000 mobile phone-sized instruments for detecting nuclear and other radioactive material.”

[adrotate banner=”9″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – nuclear plant, malware)


facebook linkedin twitter

cyber security Gundremmingen nuclear plant Hacking malware nuclear plant Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs stuxnet

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini June 26, 2025
Kai West, aka IntelBroker, indicted for cyberattacks causing $25M in damages
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini June 26, 2025
Cisco fixed critical ISE flaws allowing Root-level remote code execution
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Kai West, aka IntelBroker, indicted for cyberattacks causing $25M in damages

    Cyber Crime / June 26, 2025

    Cisco fixed critical ISE flaws allowing Root-level remote code execution

    Security / June 26, 2025

    U.S. CISA adds AMI MegaRAC SPx, D-Link DIR-859 routers, and Fortinet FortiOS flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Security / June 26, 2025

    CitrixBleed 2: The nightmare that echoes the 'CitrixBleed' flaw in Citrix NetScaler devices

    Hacking / June 26, 2025

    Hackers deploy fake SonicWall VPN App to steal corporate credentials

    Hacking / June 25, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT