News summary produced by Claude AI
Files associated with India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant have been posted online by World Leaks, a ransomware group, according to reporting by Reuters. The leaked data reportedly comprises nearly 19,000 files totaling 14.3 gigabytes and includes purported blueprints of facility sections, supplier information, meeting records, inspection documentation, equipment reviews, and insurance policies. These files are said to have originated from Reliance Group, a major contractor at the facility.
The leak was first identified by an independent cybersecurity researcher in June and made available on the dark web. Reliance Group confirmed to Reuters that a “partial breach” of its data occurred on a server provided by third-party data center operator Yotta, and stated that government authorities have been notified. The company did not specify which data categories were affected. Reuters examined the documents, which span from 2016 through mid-2025, but was unable to authenticate their legitimacy.
Kudankulam, located in Tamil Nadu in southern India, is the country’s largest nuclear facility and plays a significant role in the government’s plans to expand nuclear energy production. Reliance Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the conglomerate, obtained a contract in 2018 to construct infrastructure for the plant’s Units 3 and 4, both currently under development and expected to become operational within the coming year with a combined capacity of 2,000 megawatts.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India issued a statement asserting that the publicly available information relates solely to standard service facilities and contains no data pertaining to nuclear safety or security systems. India’s primary cybersecurity authority, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), has launched an investigation into the incident. Experts have characterized the breach as potentially serious, with analysts noting that such security incidents are becoming increasingly frequent in India, where numerous organizations lack adequate infrastructure to respond to cyber threats.
World Leaks has not responded to inquiries regarding the breach. The group, which previously targeted companies including Nike and India’s Tata Group, typically publishes stolen corporate information online when organizations refuse to pay demanded ransoms.