[Iclickart]
The South Korean digital currency market was swayed by a cyber-attack against Bithumb, the world's fifth largest online digital currency exchange when its defenses were torn down by an email containing a job application letter infected with malicious codes.
The result of the hacking attack was devastating. Personal information of about 31,800 users was leaked and some users claimed that Bitcoins disappeared from their accounts. Prosecutors have launched an investigation to find out if the hackers used the information including phone numbers and addresses in other crimes such as voice phishing.
The unexpected new hacking method is now being frequently spotted around South Korean cyberspace, warned Hauri, an online security company, through a statement Wednesday. The company strongly suggested that an email with strange attachments should not be opened and deleted immediately.
If the attached file is opened, malicious codes will take control over the user's system, the security expert said. Hauri said the hackers' codes show a similar distribution method to ransomware attacks which took place earlier this year. The ransomware was disguised as emails containing electronic phone bills and in-house company notices.
Also, the security expert speculated that because the forms of attacks show similarity to each other, the source of both malicious codes and ransomware attacks could be the same person or a hacking group.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
