South Korea victim of a cyberattack in the middle of military maneuvers with the United States

South Korea and the United States begin their joint military exercises on Monday, August 21. Dubbed the Ulchi Freedom Shield, these annual maneuvers provoke the anger of North Korea, which denounces the repetition of the invasion of its territory. On Sunday, a group of hackers conducted an attack in an attempt to steal information about the exercises.

South Korean police announced on Sunday (August 20th) that the hacker group "Kimsuky" had carried out an attack on personnel working at the military exercise simulation center. (Illustrative image) AFP/File

Text by: RFI Follow

Advertising

Read more

With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicolas Rocca

Pyongyang has shown its disagreement with military maneuvers: on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared in the North Korean press inspecting a test "cruise missile" from a warship. North Korea rarely lacks creativity when it comes to disrupting joint military maneuvers between Seoul and Washington.

On Sunday, before the start of the maneuvers, South Korean police announced that "Kimsuky," one of Pyongyang's many hacker groups, allegedly carried out an attack on personnel working at the military exercise simulation center.

No sensitive information was stolen during this cyberattack conducted using the so-called phishing technique. Hackers send seemingly innocuous series of emails with links capable of installing viruses if an employee clicks on them. South Korean police and the US military accuse the group of hackers because the IP address used matches that of a previous attack in 2014 that had already been attributed to it.

North Korea denies involvement

The Kimsuky group seems to have specialized in intelligence according to Washington, targeting think tanks, industrialists, the nuclear sector, or as this time military operations. Other hacker groups are looking for currency. It is estimated that they have stolen more than $3 billion in cryptocurrencies over the past five years. An important tool to finance the regime's nuclear and ballistic program.

While North Korea denies any involvement in these cyber activities, it remains very active in the military field. South Korean intelligence estimates that Pyongyang is expected to conduct new missile launches in the coming weeks.

See alsoNorth Korea fires "several cruise missiles" in the Yellow Sea

NewsletterReceive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Share:

Read on on the same topics:

  • South Korea
  • Cybercrime
  • Defense
  • North Korea
  • Internet
  • Computer science
  • United States