The cyberattacks, which took place in September 2020 and June 2024, targeted the contractor’s document centralization system designed to prevent technology leaks and malware infections, according to Choi Min-hee of the opposition Democratic Party.
About 720,000 files, or 10.6 percent of the total documents in the system, were leaked during the attacks, which are suspected to have been carried out by a North Korean organization, said Choi, the chairperson of the parliamentary Science and ICT Committee.
The compromised data included about 110,000 KHNP technology documents. However, the nuclear power plant operator said most of the leaked documents were related to older reactor models, with information about new Advanced Power Reactor (APR) models largely unaffected.
"The internal documents leaked in the hacking incident have been confirmed to have no direct impact on nuclear safety," KHNP stated.
Choi criticized the cybersecurity measures of KHNP and its contractors. "These hacking incidents go beyond simple technology theft and could potentially threaten national security," she warned.
