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Data Storm Caused Nuclear Plant To Shut Down
rs232 writes to let us know that the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security called this week for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to further investigate the cause of excessive network traffic that shut down an Alabama nuclear plant. Investigators want to know whether the data storm could have been initiated from outside the plant.
I work at a nuke plant as a system engineer. One of my systems are the reactor recirculation pumps, these type of pumps. I know for a fact there is no way hackers could "data storm" my pumps and there is extreme doubt in my mind that the same thing could happen at Browns Ferry. The pumps digital control system isn't even near any outside network.
However, I will fully put the blame on the PLCs. Those little suckers come in handy but if you don't completely understand every line of code and every instruction they can f_ck you over.
I also love how they say "well if you can't prove it wasn't, then it must have been".
You just have to love Browns Ferry don't you? This is the same plant that had wired its control cabling for two nuclear reactors through the same area. Then they had workers check the air tightness by using candles near their flammable insulation. It wasn't air tight and the flame of a candle was sucked into the insulation. Thus a fire broke out, $100 million of damage occurred, and control was lost of their two nuclear reactors for something around 8 or more hours. Why 8 hours? Because their fire team tried to fight the fire with portable CO2 extinguishers. Yes, for 8 hours. Until the local fire department (which they previously obstructed) put it out with water in 5 minutes. Idiot designers and idiot employees. I'm surprised that plant didn't have a meltdown before TMI. But boiling water reactors are a little harder to destroy.
>I've worked in IT a while now & have never heard of a "data storm".
I used to work as embedded developer, and we used that term.
It was used in embedded communications when one or several devices went bonkers and flooded common bus.
Bit like packet storm, but without IP or other packet protocol, so it was called data storm.
It stands to reason that in nuclear plant there are a lot of old fogeys, so company jargon might be bit outdated and odd sounding to outsider.