[IGSTK-Developers] Cyber Incident Blamed for Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown - washingtonpost.com

[Luis Ibanez]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501958.html

Staff Writer
Thursday, June 5, 2008; 1:46 PM

<quote>
A nuclear power plant in Georgia was recently forced into an emergency
shutdown for 48 hours after a software update was installed on a single
computer.

The incident occurred on March 7 at Unit 2 of the Hatch nuclear power
plant near Baxley, Georgia. The trouble started after an engineer from
Southern Company, which manages the technology operations for the plant,
installed a software update on a computer operating on the plant's
business network.
</quote>


<quote>
...company technicians were aware that there was full two-way
communication between certain computers on the plant's corporate and
control networks. But she said the engineer who installed the update was
not aware that that the software was designed to synchronize data
between machines on both networks, or that a reboot in the business
system computer would force a similar reset in the control system machine.
</quote>



<quote>
Computer security experts say the Hatch plant incident is the latest
reminder of problems that can occur when corporate computer systems at
the nation's most critical networks are connected to sensitive control
systems that were never designed with security in mind.
</quote>