Kudankulam nuclear power plant did not face any cyberattack

Bengaluru: The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant did not face a cyberattack, contrary to speculation in social media, although a mechanical problem forced one unit to shut down earlier this month, officials said.

Indian nuclear plants including Kudankulam have standalone control systems that are not connected to the internet or any other external network, the plant’s spokesman R Ramdoss said in a statement. “Any cyberattack on the nuclear power plant control system is not possible. Presently, KKNPP Unit-1 &2 are operating at 1,000 MWe (megawatts electric )and 600 MWe, respectively, without any operational or safety concerns,” Ramdoss said.

Officials said no attack was “noticed” even in internet-linked computers that are external to critical operations. However, earlier reports of a cybersecurity issue prompted district authorities to check with the plant. “I was informed by the plant that no such event had occurred,” Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, district collector, Tirunelveli, told ET.


One official said the second unit of the plant was shuttered last Saturday because “water flow into the steam generator got reduced due to a mechanical problem in the control valve, which was rectified”. The official said it took two days for the unit to resume normal operation.