National Intelligence Service Warns of North Korean Hacking on Semiconductor Companies

North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae visited the Ministry of National Defense to celebrate on the afternoon of the 8th of last month, the founding day of the North Korean People’s Army, according to the North Korean Central News Agency./Yonhap News

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has warned that North Korea focuses on cyber hacking targeting domestic semiconductor equipment companies.

According to the NIS, North Korean hacking organizations used the LotL(Living off the Land) technique, minimizing the use of malware and utilizing programs installed on servers.

Based on hacking technology, they attempted to hack one company’s configuration management server and security policy server in December last year and another in February this year, stealing product design drawings and on-site photos. The NIS explained that this method is complicated to detect with security tools because the attackers are not noticeable.

The NIS has informed the hacked companies about North Korea’s hacking trends and supported the establishment of countermeasures, saying that there is a high probability that North Korea will produce semiconductors itself due to difficulties in procuring semiconductors due to sanctions against North Korea and increased demand for satellite and missile weapon development.

To prevent additional damage, the NIS also provided information to major domestic semiconductor companies and implemented a measure to take security checks.

An NIS official said, “We should thoroughly manage accounts such as the security update and access control targeting internet-exposed servers and regular strengthening of administrator authentication.”

Meanwhile, the NIS is uploading content in the form of webtoon, videos, and card news that address ways to prevent damage from hacking on the Cyber Security section of the website repository.