Mrinalini Majumdar, Pune
Concerns regarding North Korea’s actions have recently surfaced. Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises between South Korea and the US are set to begin on Monday and last through August 31. However, according to South Korean authorities, it is believed that North Korean hackers are aiming at this week’s joint US-South Korean military exercise. Though it is reasonable to assume that sensitive data has not been compromised.
South Korean and US forces are going to begin an 11-day summer exercise called Ulchi Freedom Guardian beginning Monday to strengthen their capabilities to respond to North Korea’s shifting nuclear as well as missile threats. North Korea has not had the best relations with South Korea for many decades now. Similarly, the ties with the US have been tense and hostile. North Korea objects to such drills conducted by the Allies. The government claims that these are building up for an invasion by the US and its South Korean allies. According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, the hackers have been connected to a North Korean group known as Kimsuky. The gang of hackers carried out their crimes by means of emails. Kimsuky hackers utilize “spear phishing” methods to steal information gathered from victims by delivering noxious attachments inserted in emails. It is said that the gang has sent such emails to South Korean contractors, employed at the South Korea-US combined exercise conflict simulation center.
Authorities have undertaken a joint investigation, according to a statement made public. The US military then found that the IP address used in the current assault was the same as one used in an earlier attempt that had been proven in 2014. The gang was also held accountable for the previous hack on South Korea’s nuclear plant operator.
Kimsuky is not the first hacking organization in the world, but they do have serious motives. The gang, Kimsuky, which is assumed to have been operating since 2012, targets people as well as organizations in South Korea, Japan, including the United States. They seek information, with an emphasis on foreign policy and national security matters including the Korean peninsula, nuclear policy, particularly sanctions, according to a report.