After the corporate world, Hackers now target nuclear plants

There’s a lot of hustle in the world of computers these days as malware attacks have been on the rise and have caused mayhem on a global scale. WannaCry shook the world with its widespread infection capabilities as it was based on leaked NSA tools. The concerns regarding such malicious IT attacks have now escalated to another level as reports have claimed that hackers have been trying to infect nuclear plants in the US.

A report from federal law enforcement officials has confirmed that hackers have been trying to breach networks of companies that operate nuclear power plants in the United States. The Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, with their plant in Kansas, was one of the companies claimed to have been a target of the malware attack according to a report by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The New York Times also carried a report of the same.

The hackers tried the same old way of spreading the malware – e-mails. Senior engineers of the plant received emails that resembled resumes for the job, which could then collect all the credentials once it had been opened.

Although the company assured that there was no impact to the operations as the corporate network is secluded from the one that deals with the operation of the plant, researchers on the case have indicated that the attack didn’t intend to cause any physical destruction but collect data for mapping the network with regards to future attacks. The malware just wanted to collect data for the hackers to help them plan future attacks with ease. As of now, the source of the attack hasn’t been confirmed, although experts point towards a Russian hacking group known as Energetic Bear.