Nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy specialists have been targeted by North Korean hackers

South Korean authorities believe North Korean hackersThe government’s foreign policy experts were targeted by the suspect. Attacks were directed at academics and members from think tanks. The attacks started with spear-phishing emails that claimed to be from South Korean political leaders. These links often contain links to fake websites and viruses as attachments. Even though the ruse was not particularly sophisticated, it was enough to fool at most a few victims.

Many high-profile experts were affected by ransomware. Their personal data was stolen, email lists were hacked which exposed more people to hackers, and 13 companies, mainly online retailers, became victims. The police believe that only 49 victims actually submitted their credentials to the fake websites and that only two companies paid the ransom of 2.5 million won ($1,980), but it is difficult to assess the full extent of the consequences.

It is not clear what non-financial resources North Korean hackers may have gotten from this latest campaign. However, this isn’t the first cyberattack on its southern neighbor. The county has been previously attacked with cybercrime. Targeted security researchersTo find uncorrected vulnerabilities and even use the tragedy of Halloween in itaewonTo target South Korean citizens.

Cyber ​​warfare has been a major focus of North Korea for years, even as it seeks to deter foreign militaries with more conventional methods, such as building nuclear weapons. I have been there. A major source of revenueA country that is in a permanent financial crisis and is severely cut off from the world markets. Since 2017, $1.72 billion in cryptocurrency has been stolen by North Korean hackers. It doesn’t appear that he has allowed the recent cryptocurrency crash in 2017 to scare it away.

The hackers may have covered their tracks fairly well, but the targets, tactics and IP addresses led police to believe this was the same group that attacked Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power in 2014. They also believe that hackers will not cease their activities just because they have been discovered. Authorities have asked people to be more vigilant against phishing attacks and human engineering attacks, especially those who work in sensitive areas like technology and government.