A high-profile North Korean hacking group has allegedly breached the network of South Korea’s state-run nuclear research institute.
With the attack, ZDNet reports that Representative Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party, South Korea’s main opposition party, stated that thirteen unauthorised IP addresses were accessed the internal network of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) by an outside group.
South Korea is currently examining the extent of the hacking incident and the source of the attack. The data po far points to the North and the number of cyberattacks from North Korean sources is expected to increase as 2021 unfolds.
Looking at this issue for Digital Journal is Steve Forbes, who is the government cyber security expert at Nominet.
According to Forbes, the new is another sign that cyberattacks from rogue sates is steadily increasing. He says: “It’s troubling to hear reports that a North Korean hacking group may have conducted attacks against South Korea’s state-run nuclear research facility last month.”
There is also a political dimension, which Forbes notes: “With North Korea’s nuclear ambitions well known, this breach could have serious consequences on global security if South Korean nuclear intelligence is compromised.”
The ramifications globally, are significant as Forbes sees them: “This breach should serve as a warning for research centres worldwide. While if a nuclear plant itself was attacked, the situation would arguably have been much worse, the highly sensitive information a research facility holds could change the course of history and arm malicious nations with the material to cause even further disruption in the future.”
This means actions need to be in place, and operated to scale. Forbes advises: “By tackling this type of threat with a coordinated cyber security approach – nationwide and international – the risk of an attack can be mitigated.”
To achieve this, it means: “Looking at suspicious activity over large datasets and being able to block potentially malicious activity allows security teams to intercept attacks early enough in their life-cycle to reduce potential damage and roll this intelligence out across potentially vulnerable organisations.”
For best concludes his review of protective actions: “This, combined with other security techniques which keep highly sensitive information under further security measures, will build defences against state-sponsored hacking groups such as those allegedly responsible for the most recent incident against South Korea.”
