UN: Threat of a hacking attack on nuclear plants is growing

The “nightmare scenario” is rising for a hacking attack on a nuclear power plant’s computer system that causes the uncontrolled release of radiation, the United Nations’ deputy chief warned Thursday.

Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told a Security Council meeting that extremists and “vicious non-state groups” are actively seeking weapons of mass destruction “and these weapons are increasingly accessible.” Non-state actors can already create mass disruption using cyber technologies—and hacking a nuclear plant would be a “nightmare scenario,” he said.