According to South Korea’s spy service, hacker organizations from North Korea have gained access to at least two chip manufacturing equipment manufacturers in the country as it attempts to get around sanctions and produce its own semiconductors for use in weapons programs.
The announcement follows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s warning that North Korea would organize provocations to sway the results of the parliamentary elections in April, including cyberattacks or the dissemination of false information.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said the South Korean firms had been a key target of North Korean hackers since late last year, and called for tougher security.
North Korea penetrated the servers of two companies in December and February, stealing product design drawings and photographs of their facilities, the NIS said.
“We believe that North Korea might possibly be preparing to produce its own semiconductors in the face of difficulties in procuring them due to sanctions,” it said in a statement.
Also driving the North’s efforts could be higher demand from its satellite, missile and other weapons programmes, it added.
Pyongyang has always denied involvement in cybercrimes, although North Korea has been blamed for cyberattacks netting millions of dollars.
The hackers employed a technique called “living off the land,” which minimises malicious codes and uses existing, legitimate tools installed within the servers, making it difficult to detect with security software, the NIS said.
