Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant data leak: What happened and what we know | Explained
Data breach at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant reveals operational files on dark web, sparking concerns but not affecting reactor safety.
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Files linked to Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant surfaced on the Dark Web after a reported ransomware incident. This explainer breaks down what was leaked, what it means, and what remains protected
Updated - July 16, 2026 04:58 pm IST
A view of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
The story so far: On Tuesday (July 15, 2026), reports broke out that multiple gigabytes of data pertaining to operations at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant had been copied and subsequently leaked as part of a ransomware attack. Reuters reported that the breach was part of an infiltration into Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and contained 14.3 GB of data on the power plant’s operations.
The data has been hosted on World Leaks, which is a Dark Web site hosted by cybercriminals who infect vulnerable firms with ransomware, threatening to leak the data if the ransom is not paid. The site claimed that the ransom was indeed not paid, and so it leaked the data. The Hindu opened the site and reviewed the index of files, which amount overall to 1.2TB, a slice of which pertained to the Kudankulam plant.
Published - July 16, 2026 01:54 pm IST
The Hindu Explains / Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project / cybersecurity / cyber crime / Tamil Nadu
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