MANILA, Philippines – According to the Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean government said on Wednesday, April 10, that North Korea was behind the March cyberattack that left a number of television stations and banks crippled for an extended period of time

On March 20, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Munhwa Broadcasting Corp (MBC), and Yonhap Television News (YTN), the Shinhan, Nonghyup and Jeju banks, and two insurance firms were hit by malicious code that paralyzed their networks. Other cyberattacks on anti-Pyongyang organizations were also reported on March 25 and 26.

The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning released their findings to the press, saying, “The series of cyber attacks on March 20, 25 and 26 resembled the cyber attack methods that North Korea had attempted in previous hackings.”  

“We’ve collected a lot of evidence to determine the North’s Reconnaissance General Bureau led the attack, which had been prepared for at least 8 months,” a Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) spokesperson said.

A joint team of civilian and government experts traced the origin to 6 personal computers used in North Korea. According to the investigation, the hackers went through 49 different places in 10 countries, including South Korea, to spread the malware in target computers. The North had used 22 of the places in past attacks. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com