Speaking to a crowd of 650 experts from 92 UN member states at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on Monday, Amano touted the International Conference on Computer Security in a Nuclear World as an event that he said sent "an important message" that the world is "serious about protecting nuclear and other radioactive material."
"Reports of actual or attempted cyber-attacks are now virtually a daily occurrence. The nuclear industry has not been immune. Last year alone, there were cases of random malware-based attacks at nuclear power plants, and of such facilities being specifically targeted," Amano said.
Specifically, the past few years have seen the ever-growing threat of cybercrime and cyber-attacks in developing countries, where criminals capitalize on legal loopholes and security breaches, the latest findings by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime revealed.
Apart from UN members, the conference is also being attended by representatives of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC). The conference is due to wrap up on June 5.