North Korea has carried out several cyberattacks against nearly 900 South Korean foreign policy experts, according to South Korean authorities. These computer attacks aimed to steal the personal data of these experts.
North Korean hackers continue to increase cyberattacks around the world and in their South Korean neighbors. South Korea’s National Police Agency says North Korean hackers working for their government targeted at least 892 foreign policy experts from the country. The hackers aimed to recover the personal data of their victims as well as their mailing lists. Moreover, North Korean hackers go through Google Drive to steal your confidential data.
In addition to cyberattacks against South Koreans, hackers have also carried out ransomware attacks against online shopping malls. The cybersecurity of these centers was vulnerable, which allowed hackers to break in to demand ransoms. A total of 19 servers operated by 13 companies were attacked by the hackers. Nevertheless, only 2 companies agreed to pay a ransom in bitcoins. The sum was the equivalent of 2.5 million won, or just over 1,800 euros.
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Only 49 victims out of the 892 South Koreans targeted gave up their personal data
As for the attacks on foreign policy experts, these weren’t very sophisticated cyberattacks. In fact, the hackers started by spear phishing emails pretending to be politicians. The emails contained links to fake sites or even attachments with viruses. Besides South Korea, North Korean hackers are also targeting other countries. In the United States, an American hacker even decided to take revenge against North Korea himself. He had been hacked by spies in the country.
Not everyone targeted fell into the hackers’ trap. The National Police Agency estimates that only 49 people out of 892 experts shared their personal data without realising it. Between these 49 people and the 2 companies that paid a ransom, it is difficult to assess the extent of these cyberattacks.
We also do not know the importance of the data recovered by the North Korean hackers. In any case, it is not the first and it will surely not be the latest cyberattack against South Korea.
Source : Engadget
