14 DAY TRIAL // South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning says that North Korean hackers have been trying to breach the systems of small and mid-size IT companies and institutions that are directly linked to the country’s national security.
According to the Korea Joongang Daily, some of the companies have been breached because of the lack of proper security systems.
The ministry has revealed that the attackers are sending out phishing emails purporting to come from Ministry of Unification officials, or members of an academic society that studies North Korea.
In December, such emails were sent to 159 individuals, many of whom connected to free trade agreements and national security. In January 2014, 30 such attempts were identified.
In one spam campaign, North Korea is said to have attempted to distribute malware. The malicious emails are disguised as survey requests or invitations to an event.