Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste | South Carolina Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

The Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector includes:

Power reactors that provide electricity
Research and test reactors
Nuclear fuel cycle facilities
Licensed users of radioactive materials, such as:
- Hospitals
- Oil and gas drilling sites
- Food production facilities
- Academic institutions
- Security checkpoints

There are four nuclear power facilities in South Carolina. Nuclear energy is the leading source of electricity generation in the state.

SC CIC supports the Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector by facilitating two-way cybersecurity intelligence sharing with its network of Cyber Liaison Officers (CLOs), which can result in new threat trends to report up to the federal level, and by offering incident response (IR) capabilities. In addition to providing direct IR support with its internal team of analysts, SC CIC can request resources from task force members, engaging the appropriate state and federal agencies as needed.

The Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector is also one of the sectors that was selected for the SC CIC collaboration with the students at The Citadel, where a custom threat profile was created that identified and analyzed the specific threats the sector faces.

Resources for the Nuclear Reactors, Material, and Waste Sector:

Nuclear worker overlooking two cooling towers.

CISA | Nuclear Reactors, Material, and Waste Sector Webpage

CISA’s Nuclear Reactors, Material, and Waste Sector webpage contains detailed information on what types of organizations belong to the Nuclear Reactors, Material, and Waste Sector in the U.S. along with federal plans for the sector (Nuclear Reactors, Material, and Waste Sector-Specific Plan) and all critical infrastructure in the country (National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)). Sector-specific plans address how the NIPP should be utilized while considering each sector’s unique perspective.

Energy worker overlooking wind farm and computer monitors.

U.S. Department of Energy | CESER

The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), through the U.S. Department of Energy, is responsible for strengthening energy infrastructure security, which includes nuclear facilities. CESER focuses on ensuring preparedness to respond to threats through such efforts as the Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program, as well as on the research and development of advanced technologies to support the related sectors.

Energy worker standing with a laptop computer in an energy facility.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is a body responsible for formulating policies, regulations, and addressing legal matters related to nuclear reactor and material safety. They have published extensive cybersecurity resources for nuclear materials, reactors, facilities, applicants and licensees, and overall safety. The NRC also carefully monitors the cyber threat landscape for threats to the nuclear sector and has established partnerships with the intelligence and law enforcement communities.