KHNP hacker demands money to withhold documents
12 March 2015
A hacker who launched a cyber attack on Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) last December has released more files and demanded money in return for not exchanging sensitive information with third countries.
From 15 December a group calling itself 'Who am I = No nuclear power' began releasing information it obtained from KHNP's computer system. The group claimed to be based in the US state of Hawaii, but South Korean media reports say officials have determined the group's location as within the country.
The hacker has since released KHNP employee information and various technical documents. The latest release of files - which included a system plan and test data from the Kori 1 unit - on Twitter marks the fifth such posting.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the hacker said: "Need money. Only to meet some demands ... Many countries from Northern Europe, Southeast Asia and South America are saying they will buy nuclear reactor information. Fear selling the entire information will undermine President Park's efforts to export nuclear reactors."
In a statement, KHNP said that since the attack in December its computer security had been reinforced. The company believes the latest documents released were unclassified and were likely collected earlier from external sources.
An unnamed KHNP official told Reuters, "We don't know how they were leaked but one thing for sure is that there has been no attack from anti-nuclear groups since December."
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News