Hackers Allegedly From North Korea Target Joint US-South Korea Military Exercises

South Korean soldiers in a command center. (photo: koreaherald.com)

JAKARTA - It is suspected that North Korean hackers have targeted a joint US-South Korea military exercise that took place this week even though classified as classified as confidential information was not compromised. This was said by the South Korean police on Sunday, August 20.

South Korean and US troops will start 11 days of Ulchi Freedom Guardian summer exercises on Monday, August 21 to increase their ability to respond to the growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea.

North Korea opposed such exercises by saying the drills were preparation by the US and its ally, South Korea, for an invasion.

The hackers are thought to be linked to a North Korean group the researchers refer to as Kimsuky, and they carried out an email hack to South Korean contractors working at a joint South Korea-US training war simulation center, according to a statement issued by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency.

"It has been confirmed that information related to the military was not stolen," the police said in a statement on Sunday, August 20, quoted by Reuters. North Korea previously denied their role in cyberattacks.

According to researchers, Kimsuky hackers have long used "spear-phishing" emails that provoke targets to provide passwords or click on attachments or links that load malicious software.

The South Korean police and the US military have conducted a joint investigation and found that the IP address used in the hacking attempt fits into one identified in a 2014 cyberattack against South Korean nuclear reactor operators. At the time, South Korea accused North Korea of being behind the cyberattack.