North Korean Hackers Suspected Of Attacking South Korean Defense Ministry’s Cyber Wing

South Korea announced its defense ministry's cyber wing had been attacked by hackers suspected to be North Korean. The cyberattack reportedly took place in September but the confirmation of the attack came Tuesday.

South Korean authorities are trying to determine the extent of the data leak following the attack. The cyber wing of the defense ministry was set up in January 2010 as part of the country's counter-hacking measures against attempts specifically carried out by Pyongyang.

"The military formed a cyber investigative team to look into this matter and found that some military data — including confidential information — has been leaked. It appears to be a North Korean act," the defense ministry said.

A South Korean military source said it had identified the source of the cyberattacks that targeted the internal networks of the military.

According to Yonhap news agency, the internet protocol (IP) address linked to the attack’s origin was traced to a location in Shenyang, China, and a malicious code associated with the address was similar to the one used in North Korean cyberattacks against the South. This reportedly pointed to North Korean involvement in the hacking incident aimed at the army's intranet.

"It is our understanding the internal network of the military was hacked from an IP address in Shenyang," the military source told Yonhap. "The malicious code used in the hacking is similar to the code used in several computer breaches."

North Korea is believed to have carried out several cyberattacks in the past. In August, North Korea hackers were linked to the targeting of numerous South Korean government agencies.