South Korea Police Expand Team Probing Financial Institution Hacks
South Korean police add 15 to team probing recent hacks on Hana, KB Kookmin and Shinhan banks, Yonhap reports.
The National Office of Investigation said the expanded team is probing attacks against multiple financial companies, including Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank. The additional manpower includes digital forensic experts, as police have sought to trace the path of the cyberattacks with international cooperation, according to Yonhap News.
The expansion followed an instruction from President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday. Lee directed the government to dedicate more personnel and resources to prevent and minimize damage from the recent series of hacking attacks, Yonhap News reported.
U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike earlier said an unidentified hacker believed to be a Chinese speaker used artificial intelligence-powered hacking tools to breach multiple South Korean financial institutions and steal data. The finding was included in the Yonhap News report.
Korean cybersecurity company Logpresso said Friday that signs were detected suggesting the suspect identified by CrowdStrike may be a member of Chinese-affiliated DDoS-for-hire organizations, such as GodNet and VITAS. Yonhap News cited both companies' assessments as police continued their investigation.
The police investigation is focused on recent attacks against financial institutions, and the added personnel are intended to strengthen the team's investigative capabilities. The National Office of Investigation did not provide further details in the Yonhap News report.