Security News > 2024 > March > Seoul accuses North Korea of stealing southern chipmakers' designs

North Korean government spies have broken into the servers of at least two chipmakers and stolen product designs as part of attempts to spur Kim Jong Un's plans for a domestic semiconductor industry, according to Seoul's security agency.

After exploiting vulnerabilities to gain access - the NIS doesn't specify which the miscreants abused - the North Korean cyberspies used "Living off the land" techniques to remain hidden.

The spy agency didn't attribute the intrusions to a named North Korean-backed criminal gang.

In addition to the attacks, the government also "Believes that North Korea may have begun preparing to produce its own semiconductors due to difficulties in procuring semiconductors due to sanctions against North Korea and increased demand due to the development of weapons such as satellites and missiles," Seoul warned.

Monday's warning comes less than a month after the NIS and the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution published [PDF] a second joint warning about North Korean state-sponsored spies' attempts to steal defense technologies from organizations around the world.

Berlin and Seoul also highlighted Lazarus Group's social engineering attacks used to infiltrate defense companies since at least mid-2020, dubbed "Operation Dream Job." These scams involve using phony job offers to trick job seekers into clicking on a malicious link or opening malware-laden attachments.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/north_korea_hacking_chipmakers/