Data Breach Exposes Files from India's Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
A data breach has reportedly exposed files linked to Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, India's largest nuclear facility. The ransomware group World Leaks has made available a substantial cache of documents on the dark web, which includes blueprints and supplier details, allegedly sourced from Reliance Group, a contractor involved with the plant. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India has stated that the breach did not compromise any sensitive information related to nuclear security. Kudankulam, located in Tamil Nadu, is central to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to expand the country's atomic energy capacity.
Reliance Group acknowledged a "partial breach" of its data from a server managed by Yotta, a third-party data center service provider, and has informed the government. The specifics of the breached data have not been disclosed. Cybersecurity researcher Rakesh Krishnan reported that nearly 19,000 files, totaling 14.3 gigabytes, related to the plant have been available online since June 11. These documents, dated from 2016 to mid-2025, include meeting records, inspection reports, and equipment reviews, although their authenticity has not been verified.
The breach is particularly concerning given that it involves sensitive information about the plant's infrastructure, including contracts awarded to Reliance Infrastructure for the construction of Units 3 and 4, which are expected to be operational next year and will provide a combined capacity of 2,000 megawatts. Nickolas Roth, a senior director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, indicated that the breach could pose a serious risk to the plant's safety and highlights the increasing frequency of cyberattacks in India, where many organizations are ill-prepared to handle such threats.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India has been in communication with Reliance regarding the breach, and India's cybersecurity agency, CERT-In, is investigating the incident. The Nuclear Power Corporation emphasized that the information leaked pertains only to common service facilities and does not involve nuclear safety or security systems. World Leaks, known for targeting major corporations, has not responded to inquiries about the breach. The group typically releases stolen data online after companies refuse to pay a ransom, as seen in a previous incident involving Tata Group, where a ransom of $1.5 million was demanded for confidential designs related to clients like Apple and Tesla.
