Spoiler Alert: It Was North Korea
South Korea’s government funded Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) was announced by Ha Tae-keung of the parliamentary intelligence committee to have been hacked on May 14, 2021 by North Korean threat actors from the cybercriminal group Kimsuky.
KAERI, located in Daejeon, South Korea, develops nuclear technologies. The hack occurred in May, but it sits uneasily in the minds of those who learn of the situation due to the incident being reported publicly on Friday, June 18, 2021, over a month later. KAERI is quoted as stating the hack was a
However, many feel KAERI and the South Korean government tried to hide the breach and did not announce it until word got out by other means.
How it Happened
The hack is strikingly similar to that of the Colonial Pipeline Company in the United States that also occurred just a week prior on May 7, 2021. In the Colonial Pipeline Hack, the VPN used was a result of information from a prior hack being sold on…
