S.Korea probes threats of hacking attack on nuclear reactors

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South Korean prosecutors have been looking into threats of another hacking attack on the country's nuclear reactors as a hacker, who identified himself as president of anti-nuclear group in Hawaii, demanded shutdown of three reactors in southeastern South Korea, local media reported Monday.

The hacker on Sunday revealed internal documents, taken from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), the state-run nuclear plants operator, on a Twitter account named "president of anti- nuclear power group in Hawaii."

The prosecution reportedly asked the U.S. investigative authority for assistance as the Twitter account is registered in the United States.

Those posted on the Internet included floor plans of some reactors'air cooling system, MCNP version 5 manual, or an open program to build reactor core and BURN4 or a calculator program for nuclear reactors.

It marked the fourth such postings since Dec. 15 when the hacker leaked personal information on around 10,000 employees of the KHNP. On Dec. 19, the hacker called for the shutdown of Gori-1, Gori-3 and Wolsong-2 nuclear reactors in southeast South Korea for three months from Christmas that falls on Dec. 25.

The hacker said he would leak about 100,000 pages of internal documents that have not been disclosed unless the three reactors are closed down until Christmas, threatening another round of hacking attack on nuclear reactors.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Sunday in a joint statement that cyber attacks on nuclear reactors would be impossible as reactor- control networks are being run in a completely separated network from outside.

The KHNP, which operates 23 nuclear reactors that generate about 30 percent of the country's electricity demand, said the leaked documents are not confidential nor related to core technologies. "You say these are not confidential material. It is pitiful as you don't know what the MCNP5 and BURN4 are,"the hacker said in the posting."If you act like this, some 100,000 pages of undisclosed data will be disclosed. Let's see if you can take responsibility when major blueprints, systems and programs of reactors are revealed." Endi

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