British Government Denies Cybersecurity Breach at Sellafield Nuclear Site: Responds to Guardian Report

On Monday, the British government responded to a report from The Guardian, denying any evidence or records suggesting a successful cyber attack on the “Sellafield” nuclear site by government entities. According to Reuters, the government emphasized the strength of its monitoring systems and expressed a high level of confidence in the absence of malicious programs within its system. The Guardian had previously reported that Sellafield, a company engaged in nuclear fuel reprocessing and waste storage, fell victim to cyber intrusions by groups closely associated with Russia and China.

The government’s statement predated The Guardian’s report, and it also addressed and refuted several inaccuracies in the newspaper’s coverage. Sellafield, overseen by the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, is situated in northwest England and employs around 11,000 individuals.

In a separate announcement, the UK’s nuclear regulatory body, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), stated that it had not observed any evidence of a breach in its systems as described in the newspaper report. However, the ONR acknowledged that Sellafield currently falls short of certain high cybersecurity standards, placing the facility under “significant scrutiny.”

The ONR mentioned ongoing investigations into specific matters and refrained from providing further comments at the present time. According to The Guardian’s report, the National Crime Agency is believed to be preparing prosecutions related to electronic failures at Sellafield.