Korea is an Asian hotspot for cyberattacks
The Secret Service seized a SIM farm in NY, ENISA confirms the attack on airlines' check-in provider was ransomware, UK manufacturing sector slumps as JLR shutdown drags on, Pro-Kirk app leaked user personal data, much more
Correction: The original summary of a Secret Service take-down of cell phone equipment that made up a SIM farm was rewritten to remove the suggestion that it was capable of knocking out cell services in New York City. Look for further clarification in tomorrow's Metacurity.
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When stacked up against the biggest nations on the planet, South Korea is a small country, with a land area roughly the size of the US state of Indiana or the country of Hungary, with a population of around 50 million, ranking it 29th globally in terms of population.
But it has the world’s 13th largest economy in terms of GDP – and the fourth largest in Asia – and is a technological innovator with a lot of economic prowess. Korea’s disproportionate power could be the reason that over the last year, it has also emerged as a prime target for cybercriminals and a canary in the coal mine for significant cybercrime activity, particularly attacks against luxury brands.
Excluding the ongoing espionage infiltrations by its contiguous adversary, North Korea, South Korea has experienced a string of damaging cyber incidents this year, including
- Breach of 20 private equity funds: Yesterday, sources reported that Russia’s Qilin gang breached data from 20 asset management firms in South Korea in a hacking incident that involved an IT subcontractor.
- SK Telecom hack: In April, one of the country’s leading telcos, SK Telecom, revealed that hackers had infiltrated its system and had been inside corporate networks for three years, targeting the USIM or Universal Subscriber Identity Module, for 27 million customers. Korean authorities announced in July that they would impose a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,970) and enforce a series of security measures against the telco.
- KT Telecom hacks: Last week, another Korean telco, KT, announced it had experienced a significant breach, an incident that followed a cyberattack earlier this month that compromised 278 customers‘ mobile payment systems, resulting in ₩170 million ($122,400) in unauthorized transactions, or what the Korean press has called micropayment frauds. Today, news broke that the hacker behind the mobile phone hacks is likely part of a Chinese cybercriminal gang.
- Lotte Card hacks: Last week, Korean credit card company Lotte Card announced that a series of hacks resulted in the theft of three million members' credit card and personal information.
