North Korea hacking group attacked Israel’s defence industry

A team of North Korean hackers breached Israel’s security and penetrated its computer system, according to the international cybersecurity firm ClearSky. Though Israel downplayed the incident claiming that the attack was thwarted in real time with no “harm or disruption” caused to its computer systems, there is concern that any sensitive data stolen during the cyberattack could be shared with Iran.

ClearSky, whose researchers were the first to expose the attack, said the hackers – identified as the Lazarus Group – likely stole large amount of classified data which could be used to attack the Zionist state. While there was no mention of how Israel could be targeted the foiled a cyberattack on Israel’s water infrastructure highlights the Zionist state’s vulnerability to such attacks.

Israel’s Defence Ministry admitted yesterday that it had been targeted by the Lazarus Group. “Members of the group used various hacking techniques, including ‘social engineering’ and impersonation,” and built fake profiles on LinkedIn, the Defence Ministry said according to the Times of Israel.

Read: Iran threatens retaliation against attacks on its nuclear facilities 

The hackers are said to have tempted Israel’s defence industry leaders with lucrative jobs. Impersonating managers, CEOs and leading officials in HR departments, as well as representatives of international companies, they contacted employees of leading defence industries in Israel.

The hacking took place in the process of sending job offers to industry heads in Israel. “In the process of sending the job offers, the attackers attempted to compromise the computers of these employees, to infiltrate their networks and gather sensitive security information. The attackers also attempted to use the official websites of several companies in order to hack their systems,” the statement added.

Israel is the latest country to be targeted by North Korea’s hacking unit, known to private security analysts as the Lazarus Group. American and Israeli officials have said the Lazarus Group, also known as Hidden Cobra, is backed by Pyongyang.

Last month a group that goes by the name Cyber Avengers said that it had targeted more than 150 industrial servers of Israel’s railways, affecting operations at 28 train and subway stations. The group also released a map of Israel’s rail network, identifying the 28 stations that were targeted, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion.