Ha Tae-kyung: "Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute Breached by North Korean Reconnaissance Bureau Hackers"

Accessed 13 IP VPN Vulnerabilities
National Intelligence Service Investigation Launched
Evidence of Incident Concealment Also Revealed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] It has been confirmed that the internal system of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was hacked by a group presumed to be hackers under North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau. Despite the North Korean hacking, there are also indications that the Atomic Energy Research Institute attempted to conceal the incident. The Atomic Energy Research Institute is the nation's largest core research institution that researches and develops nuclear technology such as nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel rods.

On the 18th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, disclosed that the Atomic Energy Research Institute was attacked by hackers on the 14th of last month. The institute confirmed to Representative Ha that "an unidentified external party succeeded in partial access through a vulnerability in the VPN (Virtual Private Network, an encrypted internet connection that can be used like an internal network)" and reported the occurrence of a cyber intrusion incident. According to this, records of unauthorized access by 13 IPs to the VPN system were discovered.

Regarding this, Representative Ha, through the North Korean cyberterrorism expert research group ‘Issue Makers Lab,’ confirmed the hackers’ IPs and concluded that they were presumed to be the hacker organization ‘Kimsuky’ under North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau. The IP in question was a North Korean hacker server that attacked a COVID-19 vaccine pharmaceutical company last year. Additionally, among the addresses used by the hackers, the email ID (cimoon) of Moon Jeong-in, former presidential foreign and security advisor, was also found. This raises suspicion that these hacker groups might be connected to the 2018 hacking incident of former advisor Moon’s email.

Representative Ha expressed concern, stating, "If national core technologies such as nuclear technology were leaked to North Korea, it could be recorded as a massive security incident comparable to the ‘2016 Defense Network Hacking Incident.’" Currently, the National Intelligence Service is investigating the specific scale of damage and the forces behind the incident.

Moreover, related agencies such as the Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Ministry of Science and ICT reportedly tried to conceal the incident during the investigation process by claiming "there was no hacking incident" and "this is the first time hearing about it," but eventually submitted related materials after being pressed. In this regard, the Atomic Energy Research Institute admitted to the National Assembly that "we could not speak truthfully because the case is under investigation" and acknowledged the false reporting.