Nuclear Power Plant Data Leaked Via Virus-Infected PC, Posted on Net

Jul. 22–TOKYO — Data on safety inspections of four Japanese nuclear power plants have been posted on the Internet, having apparently been leaked from a virus-infected personal computer of an employee of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the agency said Friday.

The leaked data include reports on inspections between 2000 and 2002 and data on the operational status of nuclear plants in Fukui, Niigata, Shizuoka and Kagoshima prefectures, according to the agency, a unit under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

No personal data or information on protection of nuclear materials has been posted on the Internet, the agency said.

An agency employee in charge of inspections of nuclear power plants had taken the data home and worked on his personal computer when the data were leaked, it said.

The personal computer is suspected to have been infected with a virus and the data are thought to have been leaked through peer-to-peer file-sharing software called Winny which was installed in the computer.

The agency said it received a tip that some data on nuclear plants had been posted on the Internet.

It said it will tighten information management by taking measures such as making it mandatory to obtain a manager’s approval to take work-related data out of the office.

The plants in question are Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Mihama plant in Fukui Prefecture, Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture, Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.

In June, a large volume of classified technical data on seven nuclear power plants were found to have been leaked and posted on the Internet via the Winny software installed in the personal computer of an employee at a plant-maintenance company.

—–

To see more of Kyodo News International, go to http://www.kyodonews.com

Copyright (c) 2005, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

9503, 9508, 9501, 9502,