Notorious North Korean hackers target US and South Korean military exercises | outside

On Monday, South Korean and US forces will start an 11-day military exercise to better respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. However, the Pyongyang regime objects to such exercises, saying that they are preparations by the United States and its ally South Korea for an invasion of North Korea.

The hackers are believed to be linked to a North Korean group that researchers call Kimsuke. Police said in a statement that they carried out their attack via emails to South Korean defense contractors who work at the War Simulation Center that supports the exercises.

North Korea has previously denied any role in cyberattacks. But according to the researchers, Kimsuky hackers have been using so-called “phishing emails” for some time that trick recipients into getting passwords or urging victims to click attachments or links that download malware (malicious spyware). For example, a UN report in February of this year reported an attempt by the same group to hack the International Atomic Energy Agency.

South Korean police and the US military conducted a joint investigation and found that the IP address used in the hacking attempt this week matched the IP address identified in a 2014 hack against the South Korean operator of Korean nuclear power plants, police said.

At the time, the Seoul government accused North Korea of ​​being behind the cyberattack.