Cybersecurity: Chernobyl and its Cyber Lessons

The human factor was considered a major factor in both official reports into the accident, with much focus on an inadequate “culture of safety”—which was prevalent not only in operations but in all stages of the power plant’s lifespan, including design, engineering, construction, manufacturing and regulation.

“The accident can be said to have flowed from a deficient safety culture, not only at the Chernobyl plant, but throughout the Soviet design, operating and regulatory organizations for nuclear power that existed at that time.”

If we apply a cyber lens to the contributing factors to the accident, we can learn a lot about how to keep our organizations safe, not least by generating a culture of security. At a minimum, ask the following questions:

Are your staff trained and experienced to do the roles they are expected to do? How comfortable are your teams at running outside of normal operating conditions? How clear are your policies and procedures—are they written to be understood? Have you stood back and considered any potential design flaws in how your business operates? How compliant are you with law and regulation? Not knowing isn’t a great defense.