Not the first data breach at Kudankulam: Recalling 2019 cyberattack that targeted thorium info | Explained News
5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 18, 2026 07:48 PM IST A data breach has exposed information linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNP), India’s flagship nuclear project located in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. For nearly a month, numerous documents purportedly linked to the plant — including engineering drawings, inspection records, minutes of meetings, technical reports and official correspondence — have been circulating on the dark web after it was leaked by ransomware group World Leaks. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), which operates the plant, has downplayed the leak, maintaining that documents relate only to non-critical facilities outside the ‘reactor island’ and pose no risk to nuclear safety. Reactor island refers to the central, highly protected section of a nuclear power plant where all nuclear processes and critical safety operations take place. Yet, the breach has renewed cybersecurity concerns over India’s critical and strategic infrastructure, particularly at a time when the government has begun opening up the tightly regulated civil nuclear sector to private participation. The incident has also drawn particular attention …
