Application security, Threat Management, Threat Intelligence, Vulnerability Management

North Korea blamed for spear-phishing of South Korean officials

North Korean hackers are believed to be the culprits behind a phishing attack on nearly a hundred South Korean diplomats, security officials and journalists, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Dozens of passwords were reset and captured by the attackers in the spear-phishing campaign, said to have unfolded between January and June.

The attackers hacked into the emails of officials at the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and unification, as well as of journalists working out of the ministries.

Prosecutors pointed fingers at North Korean hackers as the method used in this latest incursion had similarities to a cyberattack in 2014 on the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company credited to North Korea. 

The attackers set up 27 phishing sites from which to launch their plot, prosecutors said. The sites have been shut down by authorities.

It is unknown whether state secrets were stolen.

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