South Korean police are investigating whether a North Korean hacking group accused of stealing datahas also gained access to information related to defense technology.
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The information includes an anti-aircraft laser system, a Seoul police official said. The investigation, conducted in cooperation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), aims to determine the extent of the data obtained by the team, known as Andariel, led by Jeong Jin-ho, head of a team at the Metropolitan Police Agency investigating the case.
The United States Treasury Department in 2019 designated the hacking group as North Korea's state-sponsored. This group focuses on conducting malicious cyber attacks, attempting to cause damage to foreign businesses, government agencies , and the defense industry.
According to local media, this week it was revealed that the secret warehouse contained important classified South Korean secrets. The entities affected included research institutes and pharmaceutical companies, as stated in an earlier police statement.
The hackers obtained about 250 files, equivalent to 1.2 terabytes of information and data. The group carried out 83 intrusions into an area of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, via an intermediary server from December to March, according to the police statement.
The server was used to access the websites of companies and institutions, with the group operating a hosting service in South Korea that rents out servers to anonymous clients. The group also managed to obtain $357,866 worth of bitcoins from three South Korean and foreign companies using ransomware, police said.
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North Korean hackers have been accused of cyberattacks worth millions of dollars, although Pyongyang has previously denied involvement in cybercrime.
A foreign woman is under investigation for attacks after a Bitcoin was transferred from her bank account and withdrawn from a bank in China, police said. She denies any involvement in any illegal activities.
Source: deccanherald.com
