Seoul, SOUTH KOREA (Reuters) —
South Korean police said Sunday that North Korean hackers were suspected of targeting a joint military exercise between the United States (US) and South Korea that was being held this week, but no classified information was leaked.
On Monday (21/8), South Korean and US troops will begin a summer military exercise named Ulchi Freedom Guardian. The drills, which will last 11 days, aim to improve their ability to respond to North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.
North Korea objected to the exercises. The country accuses the exercises of being an attempt by the US and South Korea to prepare for an invasion.
The hackers are believed to be linked to a North Korean group that researchers have named Kimsuky. The group hacked through emails sent to South Korean contractors working at a South Korea-US war game simulation center, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a statement.
“No information related to the military was stolen and that has been confirmed,” the police said in a statement, Sunday (20/8).
North Korea has denied any role in the cyberattack.
Kimsuky hackers have long used spear-phishing email hacking techniques to trick targets into providing passwords or clicking attachments or links that could upload malware, researchers say.
The US military and South Korean police conducted a joint investigation and found the IP (internet protocol) address used for the attempted hack matched one identified in the 2014 hack of a South Korean nuclear reactor operator, police said.
At that time, South Korea accused North Korea of being behind the cyber attack. (ft)
