Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India. Photo: Collected.
International news agency Reuters has reported that approximately 19,000 documents related to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu have been published on the dark web following a data leak from a server belonging to the Indian conglomerate Reliance.
The Reuters report states that a ransomware group known as “World Leaks” released around 858,000 documents belonging to the Reliance Group on the dark web. Among these, the documents concerning the Kudankulam project amount to approximately 14.3 gigabytes. Cyber security researcher Rakesh Krishnan told Reuters that these documents have been available online since June 11.
However, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) maintains that the information exposed relates solely to routine “Balance of Plant” utility facilities and has no connection to nuclear safety, related systems, or sensitive data. Despite this, the incident has sparked significant controversy in India.
What kind of information was leaked?
The report indicates that the leaked data includes infrastructure designs for the Kudankulam project, structural details of various units, information regarding equipment suppliers, and insurance-related documents.
However, Reuters believes these documents are not directly related to the core technical systems of the nuclear reactors supplied by the Russian state-owned entity Rosatom.
Statements from Reliance and Yotta
Reliance stated that the data leak occurred through a third-party data service. In a statement, the service provider, Yotta, said that suspicious activity was detected on a server owned and operated by Reliance Infrastructure on May 29. The server was subsequently shut down to thwart a potential ransomware attack. Yota further stated that they informed Reliance about the potential data leak in late June and cooperated fully with the investigation.
Reuters also reported that Indian industrialist Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group has acknowledged the data leak.
Reliance’s Role in the Kudankulam Project
Reliance Infrastructure secured the contract in 2018 to build the infrastructure for the third and fourth units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. These units are currently under construction and are scheduled to become operational in 2027. Once commissioned, the plant aims to generate approximately 2,000 megawatts of electricity.
NPCIL’s Explanation
NPCIL stated that the leaked data relates only to general infrastructure and utility facilities associated with the ‘Balance of Plant.’ This information has no connection to nuclear safety, reactor operations, or any other sensitive technical data.
The organization further clarified that the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract awarded to Reliance covered only the engineering, equipment procurement, supply, and construction of general utility infrastructure.
Concerns Raised
The environmental organization ‘Friends of the Earth’ stated that the release of such infrastructure-related data on the dark web could pose a security risk. The organization asserted that the Indian central government’s silence regarding this incident has further heightened concerns about security in South India.
