[Exclusive] Kai Hacked... Did the KF-21 Blueprints Leak?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been confirmed that Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which produces the Korean fighter jet (KF-21) Boramae, has been hacked.

On the 29th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, said, “The Defense Acquisition Program Administration refuses to provide specific details on the scale of damage or the perpetrators, citing ongoing investigations, but they have acknowledged that KAI was hacked last month,” adding, “Currently, a joint investigation is underway by related agencies including the National Intelligence Service.”

Representative Ha believes that the group that hacked KAI is the same as the one that previously hacked the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. He also revealed the cyber intrusion report from the Atomic Energy Research Institute and pointed to the North Korean hacker organization ‘Kim Su-ki,’ under the Reconnaissance General Bureau, as the group behind the attack.

The National Intelligence Service is currently conducting a large-scale special inspection. This is in response to the increasing concerns over hacking following a series of cyberattacks targeting national infrastructure both domestically and internationally.

Intelligence authorities are focusing on the fact that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and KAI were targeted. It is believed that the hackers aimed for the submarine being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and the KF-21 design blueprints produced by KAI.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is constructing the first 3,000-ton class submarine independently designed and built by our military, the Dosan Ahn Changho. The Dosan Ahn Changho is evaluated as a core force in our military’s deterrence against North Korean missiles. After completing the ground launch test of the domestically produced submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) last year, the military authorities are expected to complete the underwater launch test this year and equip six SLBMs on the Dosan Ahn Changho. The SLBM is commonly referred to as Hyunmoo 4-4.

Notably, Daewoo Shipbuilding was previously attacked by hackers in April and August 2016. At that time, it is reported that over 60 military secrets, including design blueprints and construction technologies for submarines, Aegis destroyers, next-generation frigates, surface ship rescue vessels, and weapon systems, were leaked.

President Moon Jae-in recently attended the KF-21 prototype delivery ceremony. A prototype refers to an aircraft produced for testing before full-scale mass production. The KF-X prototypes, with development completed up to the fourth unit, are scheduled to undergo essential performance tests and flight tests in 2022 after the delivery ceremony, and will be sequentially deployed in the mid-2020s. The military plans to complete the deployment of 120 units by 2032.

Designed as a multipurpose mid-sized fighter, the KF-X is significant for having developed key fighter components domestically due to the refusal of technology transfer from the United States. It has successfully localized avionics equipment such as ▲Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar ▲Infrared Search and Track (IRST) ▲Electro-Optical Targeting Pod (EO TGP) ▲Radio Frequency jammer (RF jammer).

Once the final test flights are completed, Korea will become the 13th country in the world to develop an indigenous fighter jet, following the United States, Russia, China, France, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, and Taiwan.

A government official stated, “Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, has officially announced plans for nuclear submarines and is focusing on strengthening air power,” adding, “Considering this, it is expected that North Korean hacking groups will continue to hack domestic defense companies to steal technology in the future.”