North Korean hackers ‘breach top Russian missile maker’
- Cyber-espionage teams secretly installed ‘digital back doors’ into systems at a rocket design bureau near Moscow, says Reuters
- Experts say incident shows how the isolated country will even target its allies, such as Russia, in a bid to acquire critical technologies
Reuters found cyber-espionage teams linked to the North Korean government – which security researchers call ScarCruft and Lazarus – secretly installed stealthy digital back doors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow.
Reuters could not determine whether any data was taken during the intrusion or what information may have been viewed. In the months following the digital break-in Pyongyang announced several developments in its banned ballistic missile programme but it is not clear if this was related to the breach.
Experts say the incident shows how the isolated country will even target its allies, such as Russia, in a bid to acquire critical technologies.
NPO Mashinostroyeniya did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment. Russia’s embassy in Washington did not respond to an emailed request for comment. North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment.
News of the hack comes soon after a trip to Pyongyang last month by Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu for the 70th anniversary of the Korean war, the first visit by a Russian defence minister to North Korea since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.
02:04
North Korea confirms detention of US soldier who bolted across border from South Korea