South Korea military probes suspected hacking of warship builder

ROKS Dokdo [Courtesy of Hanjin Heavy Industries]

South Korea's military opened an investigation Tuesday to see if North Korea was behind a suspected cyber attack on Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, a major defense firm involved in the constructions of warships.

The South's defense ministry said its intelligence unit was conducting a security check into Hanjin Heavy after discovering an attempt to hack into its computer network. The company has built frigates, amphibious assault ships, and other naval vessels.

"We are carrying out an investigation to identify the source of the attack," a Defense Ministry spokesman told Aju News, expressing concern about a possible leakage of confidential information to North Korean hackers.

"Since we are at the beginning stage of an investigation, we cannot confirm that North Korea is behind the attack, but we are looking for evidence," he said, declining to say how many times or what kind of hacking attempts were made.

South Korea has spotted sporadic cyber attacks on defense firms. In 2014, a malicious code was detected from the computer network of the Agency for Defense Development, a state defense research institute. In November 2015, malicious codes were found at LIG Nex1 which has developed a radar system for jet fighters.

Military officials believe North Korean hackers are suspected of having launched such attacks, but no decisive evidence has been found as yet.

South Korea has blamed North Korean hackers for deploying malware and virus-carry emails for a series of cyber attacks on military institutions, banks, government agencies, TV broadcasters and media websites in recent years.

Internet security has been strengthened since Seoul set up a special cyber command in 2010, amid growing concern over its vulnerability.

The South's Defence Ministry believes North Korea runs an elite cyber warfare unit with up to 6,000 personnel and regards its ability to launch hacking attacks as a major security threat.

Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

South Korea military probes suspected hacking of warship builder

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