Cyber Security Breach In Nuclear Plants

Mar 23:Indian nuclear establishment has set rigorous procedures for the design, development, and operation of the systems used in its installations. The safety and security-critical systems are designed and developed in-house using custom-built hardware and software which are subjected to regulatory verification and validation, thereby making them resistant to cyber security threats. Critical infrastructure of nuclear power plant establishment is isolated from Internet and access to such systems is restricted to authorized personnel and is closely monitored. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has specialist groups viz. Computer and Information Security Advisory Group (CISAG) and Taskforce for Instrumentation and Control Security (TAFICS) to look after cyber security/information security of NPCIL among other constituent units of DAE, including regular cyber security audit. Several measures have also been taken for further strengthening of Information Security in nuclear power plants viz. hardening of internet and administrative intranet connectivity, restriction on removable media, blocking of websites & IPs.

The cyber security infrastructure in DAE’s facilities/plants follows design principles and guidelines set up by DAE CISAG and India’s central cyber security agencies such as CERT-IN. On the plant side, all computer-based systems are based on standards and guidelines formulated by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and TAFICS which are ultimately derived in large part based on standards established by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

This information was given by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, and Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

*****

Disclaimer: We donot claim that the images used as part of the news published are always owned by us. From time to time, we use images sourced as part of news or any related images or representations. Kindly take a look at our image usage policy on how we select the image that are used as part of the news.