'Petya' cyber attack: Chernobyl's radiation monitoring system hit by worldwide hack
Monitoring is now being performed manually, Ukrainian authorities said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The monitoring systems at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have been broken by a worldwide hack.
Systems usually used to monitor the area around the power station – which is still an active and dangerous area following the disaster in 1986 – are not working because of the cyber attack, Ukrainian authorities said. Those areas must now be monitored manually, according to a statement.
The entire country of Ukraine is being hit by a sustained cyber attack that has hit some of its most important state and private infrastructure. Though the attack began in the country – and most of the damage is still being done there – it is rapidly spreading across the world, hitting firms across Europe and America.
The hack also took down the power plant's website, which usually hosts information about the incident and the area.
All systems at the plant are continuing to operate normally, authorities warned, and automated monitoring in some areas is still working fine. But monitoring in the industrial zone around the plant is being performed manually, using older technology, the statement read.
Authorities suggested that the problems were a result of that monitoring system running on Windows. That operating system is also thought to be the software hit by the attack, which is a variant of the Wannacry ransomware that took down computers across the world – including the NHS – in May.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments