North Korea created a fake version of the South Korean website Naver as part of a strategy to steal personal data, the Seoul spy agency said.
Naver is one of South Korea’s largest technology companies, whose services include cards, payment systems, blogs and messaging apps, used daily by many South Koreans.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency reported that Pyongyang has a phishing which replicated Naver’s main page, including news, real-time, trading and real estate. The fake website, naverportal.com, is designed to hack users’ credentials and passwords.
“As North Korea’s hacking methods against our people become increasingly sophisticated, we are urging people to be even more vigilant,” the intelligence agency said in a statement, which also mentioned the adoption of measures to block the fake website.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that it has decided to strengthen cooperation with Mandiant – US cybersecurity company and subsidiary of Google – to provide a more effective response to North Korea’s cyber activities.
These activities “not only damage the property of unsuspecting individuals and companies, but also pose a serious threat to the global IT ecosystem as a whole,” he added.
South Korea, Japan and the United States allege that North Korea stole nearly $1.7 billion (€1.6 billion) in cryptocurrencies last year and partially supported its weapons programs by collecting information through “illegal cyber activities.”
Source: DN
