Security Experts:

Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cyberwarfare

North Korea Denies Hacking Nuclear Plants in South

North Korea on Thursday denied involvement in cyber-attacks on South Korea’s nuclear power plant operator, accusing Seoul of fabricating a story to shift the blame for high cross-border tensions.

North Korea on Thursday denied involvement in cyber-attacks on South Korea’s nuclear power plant operator, accusing Seoul of fabricating a story to shift the blame for high cross-border tensions.

Last December hackers published designs, manuals and other information about South Korean reactors on Twitter, along with personal information about workers at their operating company.

The leaks prompted the South to heighten cyber-security and launch an investigation involving experts, government officials and state prosecutors.

Last week Seoul blasted Pyongyang for seeking to throw South Korea into “social chaos” with cyber-attacks on the reactors, describing them as a threat to people’s lives and safety.

On Thursday Pyongyang’s state Internet research institute insisted North Korea had never been involved in any cyber-attacks on the South.

“We never think about a bad act against the interests of our brethren under any circumstances,” it said in a statement published by the official KCNA news agency, dismissing the South’s claims as “sheer fabrication”.

The charges that North Korea was behind the reactor hack reflect South Korea’s “sinister” scheme to shift responsibility for strained inter-Korean relations, it said.

Tensions between the neighbors are running high after the South this month held joint military drills with the United States — condemned by the North as provocative rehearsals for invasion.

Seoul has blamed North Korean hackers for a series of cyber-attacks on military institutions, banks, government agencies, TV broadcasters and media websites in recent years.

The United States also said the North was behind a cyber-attack on Sony over its controversial North Korea-themed satirical film “The Interview” last year.

Pyongyang denied involvement in the Sony hack but strongly condemned the film, which features a fictional plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong-Un.

RelatedRegister Your Interest For the 2015 ICS Cyber Security Conference

RelatedSouth Korea Nuclear Plants Stage Drill Against Cyber Attack

RelatedSouth Korea’s ‘Top Gun’ Cyber Warriors

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join this webinar to learn best practices that organizations can use to improve both their resilience to new threats and their response times to incidents.

Register

Join this live webinar as we explore the potential security threats that can arise when third parties are granted access to a sensitive data or systems.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cyberwarfare

WASHINGTON - Cyberattacks are the most serious threat facing the United States, even more so than terrorism, according to American defense experts. Almost half...

Cyberwarfare

Websites of German airports, administration bodies and banks were hit by DDoS attacks attributed to Russian hacker group Killnet

Nation-State

The North Korean APT tracked as TA444 is either moonlighting from its previous primary purpose, expanding its attack repertoire, or is being impersonated by...

Cyberwarfare

Iranian APT Moses Staff is leaking data stolen from Saudi Arabia government ministries under the recently created Abraham's Ax persona

Cyberwarfare

The war in Ukraine is the first major conflagration between two technologically advanced powers in the age of cyber. It prompts us to question...

Application Security

Fortinet on Monday issued an emergency patch to cover a severe vulnerability in its FortiOS SSL-VPN product, warning that hackers have already exploited the...

Cyberwarfare

Russia-linked cyberespionage group APT29 has been observed using embassy-themed lures and the GraphicalNeutrino malware in recent attacks.

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant VMware on Tuesday shipped urgent updates to fix a trio of security problems in multiple software products, including a virtual machine...