[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 6th, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that it recently detected that about 40,000 smartphones subscribed to domestic mobile carriers were hacked through a malicious application impersonating financial institutions.
According to the NIS Cyber Security Center, a hacker group impersonating domestic financial institutions induced users to download a fake internet banking application on their smartphones. Once the application was installed, it hacked call logs, text messages, and stored documents. There were also indications that calls on infected phones were being eavesdropped on.
The NIS has taken follow-up measures such as urgently blocking the spread of damage in cooperation with related agencies. First, in collaboration with domestic antivirus companies, they quickly updated antivirus software related to the malicious code used in the hacking.
Additionally, the NIS reported that it is focusing on preventing further damage in cooperation with related organizations such as the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Financial Security Institute.
The NIS disclosed this hacking incident to prevent additional damage as hacking attempts continue.
The NIS expects hacking attacks targeting smartphones and personal computers to increase further amid the COVID-19 situation. Therefore, it emphasized the importance of thorough security management, such as regularly performing antivirus scans and downloading applications through safe channels to prevent smartphone hacking.
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