"North Korean Hacking Group 'Kimsuky' Cyberattacks Russian Defense Companies"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported by Russian media that North Korea's hacking group 'Kimsuky' attacked a Russian defense contractor to obtain confidential information. It is understood that they attempted hacking using phishing emails to extract confidential information in the space and aviation sectors from Russia.

According to the Russian daily Kommersant on the 19th (local time), the North Korean hacker group Kimsuky reportedly attempted multiple hacking attacks on Russian defense contractors using phishing emails. The targets reportedly included Rostec, a Russian state-owned arms export company. Kimsuky hackers are said to have sent phishing emails this spring with themes related to COVID-19 and job advertisements to extract confidential information from Russian companies in the space and aviation sectors.

A security company under Rostec stated, "The number of attacks significantly increased between April and September," adding that most cyberattacks were not highly sophisticated and did not pose a serious threat, but they could be considered 'taste-testing attacks' to probe the opponent's security level.

Kimsuky is known as a hacking organization supported by the North Korean government and is also known by other names such as Velvet Chollima and Black Banshee. Kommersant reported that it is an organization cooperating with Lazarus, North Korea's representative hacking group. Kimsuky focused on attacking targets within South Korea since 2010 but has since expanded its attack range to include companies in the artillery and armored vehicle manufacturing sectors in Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Turkey. It is also known to be behind the 2014 hacking incident of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, where nuclear power plant design documents were leaked.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.