News

Cyberattack traced to North Korea

Relations between North and South Korea have been tense since the 1953 armistice that effectively ended their civil war. Recently the struggle between the two nations has been taken to cyberspace. In March, South Korea was the victim of an extensive cyberattack campaign targeting several banks and media companies, according to the BBC. Approximately 48,000 computer terminals and servers were infected with malware, disrupting the service of multiple banks and television stations.

While South Korean officials had initially suspected that their Northern adversaries were behind the incident, officials out of Pyongyang denied any such involvement. USA Today reported that the General Staff of the Korean People's Army had issued a formal denial through the Korean Central News Agency.

Despite those assurances, South Korean investigators recently traced those attacks to an IP address located in Pyongyang. According to InformationWeek, the hacker responsible for the attack inadvertently exposed his or her IP address for a few minutes because of a technical problem. That address has been identified as being registered to the only internet service provider in North Korea. 

South Korean officials have conceded that there is a slight possibility the IP address was spoofed in order to draw investigators' attention away from the culprit, but they believe this is highly unlikely because of the accidental nature of the exposure.

Because of their long-standing feud and the outdated malware that was used in the attack, South Korean authorities had long suspected that Pyongyang was responsible for the assault. By tracing back the hacker's IP address to a North Korean location, they confirmed those suspicions.

Financial centers are a common target for cybercriminals, whether they are monetarily influenced or have political agendas. Sensitive information should be encrypted at all times both in storage and while in transit. Protect critical financial data with an SSL certificate today.

corporate office

Thawte
The Gateway
Century Lane
Century City, 7441
Cape Town
South Africa

Postal Address:
P O Box 15986
Panorama 7500
Cape Town
South Africa

Call: +27 21 819 2200
Fax: +27 21 819 2950