N.Korean Hackers Attack Aerospace Organizations

Suspected North Korean hackers recently attacked Korea Aerospace Industries, which manufactures the KF-21 fighter jet, and stolen large amounts of classified information.

Last year they also attacked the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which develops space rockets and satellites, a government official revealed Wednesday. And in May, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, which is developing a homegrown small reactor for submarines, also became the target of a hacking attack. 

The official said there have been a series of hacking attacks on military secrets and the military is trying to identify their source.

Last week it was also revealed that suspected North Korean hackers in 2020 attacked Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, which is manufacturing a new 3,000-ton submarine for the Navy.

People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung, a member of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, said, "If KAI was hacked there is a strong chance that the KF-21 blueprint was stolen."

KAI is also developing South Korea's next-generation spy satellites and advanced weapons.

Experts worry that the ongoing hacking attacks on South Korea's key defense companies and research institutes have been alarmingly successful. The organizations have technology that could be directly useful to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.