North Korea Possibly Invaded Seoul University E-mail Accounts

According to officials at Seoul University, it's suspected that North Korea masterminded a hack attack during 2011 to target the university graduates' e-mail accounts in the South, published Yonhap News Agency dated January 17, 2012.

Reportedly, Korean University's Graduate School of Information Security indicated about carrying out an investigation in collaboration with intelligence officials for tracing the hack's source ever-since it became aware of an e-mail that loaded with malware, was distributed among the school's graduates through the campus e-mail accounts during November 2011.

Notably, a server located within Taiwan was the means used for dispatching the e-mail.

The malware, which was capable of contaminating the e-mail receiver's PC, in addition facilitated hackers to gain admission into his mailbox.

However, as per a school officer, there wasn't any harm reported since its graduates didn't view a given file attachment in the e-mail, with the result, the malware couldn't perform its malicious activity.

Moreover, university sources said they discovered that the foremost message got dispatched from an account in NK, which the National Intelligence Service and the Defense Ministry of South Korea knew about. Therefore, they concluded that a hack attempt into the university's server by NK was executed for stealing information, the sources indicated.

Another source belonging to the computer-security sector of SK said that North Korean hacker groups-created malware samples were found inside the country. Therefore, it was essential that the means be determined for preventing the well-planned assaults by NK, the source added.

Expectedly, the university shutdown the e-mail server of the Graduate School, and incorporated each of the accounts into that of the university where the security safeguard was relatively strong. Following the hack, it even strengthened security education amongst employees while enhanced server monitoring too.

Meanwhile, it's the same hackers who in May 2011 dispatched electronic mail to SK's Military Academy. That e-mail carrying malware and reaching 60 military members prompted Seoul's Defense Ministry to trace the origin and thereafter state that the same China located IP address was used through which NK, on March 4, 2011, launched a hacking assault. The Dong-A Ilbo published this on January 17, 2012.

Related article: North Korea Attacked South Korean Army Colonel With Spyware

» SPAMfighter News - 1/24/2012