According to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), hackers from North Korea have carried out an attack on a nuclear power plant in India, infecting the network with malware .
News broke on Monday that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant ( KNPP) was likely infected with a dangerous malware.
A former security researcher, Pukhraj Singh, said that a sample of a new malware, linked to the KNPP attack , was recently posted on VirusTotal
The sample of malware that was discovered appeared to be specifically designed to spread and operate in the IT network of this particular factory.
The malware was linked to North Korea's Lazarus hacking group
Security researchers believe the malware is a version of Dtrack, a backdoor trojan developed by the Lazarus group.
A few days ago, the factory experienced some problems, as some of its systems stopped working . Now, many believe that the unexpected shutdown is linked to malware.
Initially, KNPP representatives denied that the plant had been attacked, describing the reports as “false information.” They also said that a cyberattack “ was not possible.”
Today, however, NPCIL, the parent company of KNPP, admitted that the plant's network was indeed affected by hackers.
According to NPCIL, the malware affected only a part of the network, and fortunately not the one used to control the nuclear reactors. NPCIL said the two networks were separated, so the malware could not spread to all systems.
Investigators discovered that the attack on the nuclear plant took place on September 4 and informed the company, which immediately launched an investigation.
Kaspersky researchers analyzed the Dtrack malware and found that it has the following capabilities:
- Keylogging
- Retrieving browser history
- Collection of IP addresses and information about available networks and active connections
- Recording of the processes being performed
- Recording all files
In the past, Dtrack has been used in espionage operations and bank attacks.
So far, the Lazarus group, and in general, hacking North Korean
The attack on India's nuclear plant looks more like an accidental "contamination" than a well-planned attack.
