North Korea Fingered Again in Hacking 'Revelations'

UBIWAR.com ^ | 18 October 2009 at 15:17 | Tim Stevens

[Cindy]

SNIPPET: "After the 4 July DDoS attacks, wrongly attributed to North Korea, it’s wise to treat reports of DPRK security hacks with some caution.

Nevertheless, The Korea Times reports the following:

Classified Info on Dangerous Chemicals Hacked

Hackers stole classified information on dangerous chemicals in their raid on the South Korean army computer network in what was believed to be an attack by North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday, quoting government officials."

SNIPPET: "The Sydney Morning Herald adds more information:

A North Korea cyber warfare unit hacked into a South Korean military command earlier this year and stole some 2,000 national secrets, including information on toxic chemical makers, a news report said Saturday.

The North Korean unit hacked the army command in March and obtained its password for a database on how to respond to chemical accidents, Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported."

SNIPPET: "A separate news report said the password was leaked when an army colonel’s computer became infected with a virus while visiting an Internet portal site. The Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified military official, said the South does not rule out the possibility of North Korea’s involvement in the hacking attack."

[Cindy]

ping

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2365413/posts

[Jet Jaguar]

BTTT

[Cindy]

Thank you for the bump Jet Jaguar.

[Cindy]

I noticed UBIWAR is linking to this article:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/19/2009101900401.html

“N.Korean Hackers Infiltrated S.Korean Military Networks”

SNIPPET: “South Korea’s military Internet network was breached for 24 hours by North Korean hackers on March 5, causing around 2,000 national secrets to leak, according to the November issue of the Monthly Chosun out Sunday.

North Korean cyber warfare unit stole confidential information from the Chemical Accident Response Information System (CARIS) set up by the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) using a password obtained from hacking South Korean Army command. A NIER official is quoted as saying, “Our system was hacked into on March 5 and we received a call from the National Intelligence Service on March 6 informing us that our Internet link with Army command had been severed.”

The Monthly Chosun exclusive was based on a document prepared by the national security office under the prime minister detailing the secrets that leaked out in the cyber attack.

The NIER official said, “It looks like around 2,000 national secrets have been stolen, including the names of around 700 companies or state-run entities that manufacture toxic chemicals and some 1,350 types of such chemicals.” The toxic chemicals monitored by CARIS include acetone, alcohol, paint thinner and other organic solvents, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid and benzene and heavy metals including lead, mercury and cadmium, all of which can be fatal if they get into the drinking water.”

Kim Heung-kwang, a former professor at Pyongyang Computer Technology University, said, “The addresses of the manufacturers listed under CARIS serve as ‘coordinates’ for North Korea to set up targets for its KN-O2 short-range missiles and 240 mm rocket launchers aimed at the South.”

Oct. 19, 2009 09:56 KST