Cyber Incident Blamed for Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown

[boom_media]

A nuclear power plant in Georgia was recently forced into an emergency shutdown for 48 hours after a software update was installed on a single computer.

The incident occurred on March 7 at Unit 2 of the Hatch nuclear power plant near Baxley, Georgia. The trouble started after an engineer from Southern Company, which manages the technology operations for the plant, installed a software update on a computer operating on the plant's business network.

The computer in question was used to monitor chemical and diagnostic data from one of the facility's primary control systems, and the software update was designed to synchronize data on both systems. According to a report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, when the updated computer rebooted, it reset the data on the control system, causing safety systems to errantly interpret the lack of data as a drop in water reservoirs that cool the plant's radioactive nuclear fuel rods. As a result, automated safety systems at the plant triggered a shutdown.

Southern Company spokeswoman Carrie Phillips said the nuclear plant's emergency systems performed as designed, and that at no time did the malfunction endanger the security or safety of the nuclear facility.

[Zangetsu]

phew almost a second Chernobyl hoeray for the safeties ^_^

[Daniel S]

Wow, you would not expect a nuclear plant to be shutdown because of a single update on one computer.

[tnl2k7]

I suppose it goes to show just how intricate everything is in a nuclear power plant. At least it was only a shut down, not an explosion or something.

-Luke.

[DeadBattery]

I guess updates can be bad after all. xD

[Smith6612]

Everything around where I am is hydroelectric or coal. Otherwise, it's a good thing computers are around to act as fail safes and the computer didn't cause an explosion. Otherwise, that's good.