hackers , and the media.
Recent reports indicate that North Korean hackers have hacked more than 140,000 computers from at least 160 South Korean government organizations and businesses and installed malware on the systems.
Seoul authorities said the cyberattack by hackers was designed to establish a long-term presence against its adversary.
South Korean police have been on high alert for cyberattacks by North Korean hackers, especially after North Korea's successful test of a small hydrogen bomb in January and a long-range missile launch in February.
According to police, the hacking attack began in 2014, but was only detected in February of this year, after North Korea managed to steal information from two companies: SK and Hanjin Group.
Police said the hackers began the attacks in 2014, but were only discovered in February this year after North Korea managed to steal information from two companies: SK and Hanjin Group.
South Korea's cyber investigation unit confirmed that the documents stolen from the two companies included designs for F-15 wings.
The investigation unit said:
“There is a strong possibility that North Korea aimed to cause confusion on a national scale by launching a simultaneous attack after securing multiple cyber-terrorism targets, or from the beginning it intended to steal industrial and military secrets.”
More than 42,000 materials were stolen, of which over 40,000 were defense-related.
Although an official from South Korea’s Ministry of Defense said the stolen documents were not classified and that there was no security breach, a spokesman from SK Holdings said four subsidiary groups were affected by the cyberattack.
The cyberattack originated from an IP address that was traced to North Korea and targeted network management software used by 160 companies and government agencies in South Korea.
Police declined to identify the malware, although the IP address from which the hack originated was identical to one used in a 2013 cyber attack against banks and television stations in South Korea.
South Korean police then worked with the companies and other government agencies to disable the malware and prevent the malicious code from spreading further, in what could have led to a cyberattack.
