German Nuclear Power Plant Infected With Malware

A German nuclear power plant near Munich reportedly was found infected with malware. RWE, the German utility that runs the facility, has confirmed that since the plant is cut off from Internet, the malware infection did not affect or harm operations, according to Reuters.

Conficker and W32.Ramnit malware were discovered in unit B of the Gundremmingen plant on the computer system that operates the tools that move nuclear fuel rods. Conficker is a worm that can spread quickly through networks, while W32.Ramnit steals files from computers and is spread through USB sticks, for instance.

Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure told Reuters it is not uncommon to find vital facilities infected with viruses, but they are not harmful unless the infrastructure is the specific target.

BSI, the country’s Federal Office for Information Security, has been notified of the incident and is looking into the matter. Security measures have been increased after malware was also found in more than a dozen USB sticks in some office computers not connected to the plant systems.

For the full story, see Reuters.