By In-Soo Nam
SEOUL--Cyberattacks against South Korea's nuclear-power plants
continue, but reactors are being operated safely, the country's
chief nuclear-power operator said Sunday.
"Cyberattacks on our administrative computer networks are
continuing even now. But the operation of nuclear reactors is
separate and thus 100 percent safe from any online attacks," Cho
Seok, chief executive of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., said
at a media briefing.
Mr. Cho declined to provide details on the continued
cyberattacks or how the company is responding to such attacks,
citing security reasons.
Korea Hydro, the operator of South Korea's 23 nuclear reactors,
said in mid-December its computer systems had been hacked and some
noncritical data had been stolen and reactor operations weren't at
risk.
The government and the operator since last Wednesday have been
running emergency teams on standby as a precaution in case of
attempted cyberattacks on nuclear plants, after a hacker demanded
the shutdown of three reactors and in Twitter messages threatened
"destruction" if the demand wasn't met.
Government officials and prosecutors in Seoul who have been
investigating the case have said they haven't ruled out the
possibility of North Korea being involved in the attack.
North Korea's state media on Saturday denied its involvement in
the cyberattacks and accused the U.S. of being behind the
hacking.
South Korean prosecutors are also seeking the cooperation of
Chinese authorities in an investigation into the case after tracing
multiple Internet addresses to a Chinese city near North Korea.
Write to In-Soo Nam at In-Soo.Nam@wsj.com
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