[Yonhap News Photo]
North Korean hackers have been behind a cyber attack against two South Korean conglomerates to steal military-related and other information, police said Monday.
Police accused North Korea of attacking the computer networks of SK Group and Hanjin Group with their units involved in defense projects. Stolen information included a design map of the wing of the F-15 fighter jet and photos related to parts of an unmanned surveillance vehicle.
Police said Internet Protocol addresses used in the attack have been traced to Pyongyang.
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.
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.
Last month military investigators conducted a security check into Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, a major defense firm involved in the constructions of warships.
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.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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