🌋 North Korea Hacks South Korean Chip Manufacturers
posted 4 Mar 2024
North Korean hackers have infiltrated two South Korean companies involved in chip manufacturing, including those used in artificial intelligence technologies. The South Korean National Intelligence Service has not disclosed the full scale of the breach but confirmed the theft of numerous blueprints of products and manufacturing facilities.
The hackers reportedly deployed a method that involved embedding a virus into existing software programs, making it challenging to trace and eliminate them. Law enforcement authorities are convinced that North Korea aims to initiate its own production using the stolen data to develop missiles, satellites, and artificial intelligence technologies.
This breach signals a potential uptick in cyber attacks targeting the semiconductor industry. In response, the intelligence service has issued a warning to South Korean firms, urging them to fortify their defenses against cyber espionage. This includes safeguarding essential data like internal plant designs, product blueprints, and proprietary technologies.
This incident adds to a growing list of aggressive cyber activities attributed to North Korea, including using artificial intelligence to enhance attacks on military, infrastructure, financial, and cryptocurrency projects. The hackers use the technology to bypass linguistic and communicative barriers.
