Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over 'Hacking Tool' Regarding NIS Files Left at the Election Commission

With "Inform the Election Commission of deletion methods and take all measures"
Opposition, hacking suspicions... "Did they leave hacking tools behind?"
Ruling and opposition parties, experts form 'Verification Committee'... National Intelligence Service also agrees

During the National Intelligence Service's (NIS) inspection of the Korea Central Election Commission's (CEC) security status, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over some inspection tool files left in the internal system. The opposition proposed verifying the situation through a verification committee composed of members from both parties and external experts to resolve the controversy, and the NIS and the ruling party agreed and concluded to prepare related work.

On the 1st, during a closed National Assembly Intelligence Committee hearing on the NIS at the NIS headquarters in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the name of the NIS inspection tool left in the CEC internal system, the reasons why it was not deleted, and the appropriateness of the follow-up measures.

Kim Kyu-hyun, Director of the National Intelligence Service, is attending the National Assembly Intelligence Committee's audit held at the NIS in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

First, Yoo Sang-beom, the People Power Party (PPP) floor leader of the Intelligence Committee, conveyed the NIS's position in a briefing. Yoo said, "The Democratic Party claims that a 'hacking tool' was left behind, but the NIS's position is that the files there are inspection tools for security checks, not hacking tools." He added, "When the inspection tool is installed on the CEC system, the file name changes or it is automatically uploaded, so it takes a long time to find files planted in the past," and explained, "We were removing the files, but on the 13th of last month, the CEC prohibited system access, so we could no longer search for them."

Yoo stated, "The NIS coordinated with the CEC to identify and delete any remaining security inspection tools, and the CEC has a confirmation letter verifying this," and added, "The NIS provided the CEC with specific details on how to delete the 'inspection tools'." He also noted, "The NIS inspected only 5% of the entire CEC devices, and some CEC staff even deleted emails, showing uncooperative behavior in investigating hacked emails," emphasizing the CEC's lack of cooperation during the security inspection process.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party insisted that the inspection tools left by the NIS were 'hacking tools' and repeatedly raised suspicions of the NIS hacking the CEC. Yoon Gun-young, the Democratic Party floor leader, said, "When asked how many hacking tools were installed on the CEC system, the NIS replied that 84 were installed," and added, "When asked if all were deleted, they said 'not 100%, some remain'." He pointed out, "Security inspections for other constitutional institutions usually take 3 to 4 weeks, but the CEC security inspection took over 5 months," and criticized, "The claim that there was not enough time to delete the inspection tools is logically inconsistent."

Regarding the NIS's explanation that the CEC was to identify and delete the tools, Yoon questioned, "Is it reasonable that hacking tools remain and the NIS left, telling the CEC to remove the remaining ones? How is the CEC supposed to find them?" He also refuted the claim of CEC's non-cooperation by stating, "The CEC submitted all requested materials and information, provided system configuration and information asset status in advance, and had sufficient time."

On the 1st, the National Intelligence Service in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the National Assembly Intelligence Committee's audit was held.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

After the debate, the Democratic Party proposed establishing a verification committee involving both parties and experts. The committee would verify whether the files left in the CEC system were hacking tools or inspection tools and confirm the deletion status. The NIS and the People Power Party agreed, and both parties decided to prepare the verification work through consultation with Park Deok-heum, chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Meanwhile, the NIS reiterated its explanation that the controversial inspection tools were not 'hacking tools.' An NIS official explained, "The inspection tools used by the NIS are standard tools used by information security companies or white-hat hackers to check for system network security vulnerabilities, and differ from malicious hacking tools," adding, "Hacking tools include specialized functions such as vaccine detection evasion, keylogging (capturing passwords entered via keyboard), screen capture for data theft, system destruction, and covert communication with hacking relay points."

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