A watchdog group has revealed that a stunning number of nations have nuclear facilities or material that are shockingly vulnerable to a cyber attack.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative studied the laws and regulations for nuclear facilities around the world and uncovered some unsettling findings.
According to the group's report, a whopping thirteen nations with nuclear power plants have no requirements for protection against cyber attacks nor drills to prepare for such an event.
And seven countries that possess materials which could be used to build nuclear weapons scored a zero for cybersecurity.
Cyber attacks on nuclear facilities are seen as a growing potential problem as disrupting a computer system would be far easier than physically attacking a location.
Ironically the potential power of a cyber attack on a nuclear facility was demonstrated by the United States and Israel when they used the Stuxnet virus to cripple an Iranian enrichment plant in 2009.
Source: New York Times