First there were the claims of Russian hackers trying to interfere in the U.S. Presidential elections last year. Now there are reports of hackers actually penetrating the computer networks of firms operating nuclear power stations. And one of them is in nearby Kansas.
A report in the New York Times says one of those targeted companies was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation which runs the nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kansas.
Word of the hacking came in a joint report issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Times indicated it carried an urgent amber warning which is the second-highest rating for the sensitivity of the threat.
Details of the hacking were not revealed such as whether the hackers were able to move from the company computers to the controls of the power plants.
Officials at the Wolf Creek power plant indicated no operations systems were affected there and explained the corporate network and the internet were separate from the network running the plant.
Homeland Security and the FBI commented too.
“There is no indication of a threat to public safety, as any potential impact appears to be limited to administrative and business networks,” said a spokesman with Homeland Security.