South Korea sees increased attacks by pro-Russia hacking groups
· CNA · JoinSEOUL: Cyber attacks by pro-Russian hacking groups against South Korea have increased following North Korea's troop dispatch for Russia's war in Ukraine, Seoul's presidential office said on Friday (Nov 8).
South Korea's presidential office said it convened an emergency meeting due to recent attacks targeting some government and private websites.
No major damage has been reported, aside from temporary outages, it said, adding that such attacks have increased since North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia to aid its war efforts in Ukraine.
"Cyber attacks by pro-Russian hacktivist groups against our country have occurred sporadically in the past," the office said in a statement.
"But they have become more frequent following North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia and its participation in the war in Ukraine."
The presidential office did not reveal the names of the hacking groups but said that the South Korean government will enhance its capabilities to respond to such attacks.
Seoul's announcement comes about a month after Washington announced the seizure of 41 internet domains allegedly used by Russian intelligence agents trying to gain access to the computers and email accounts of the Pentagon.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency also warned in September against a cyber group linked to Russian military intelligence that it said had launched attacks in Ukraine and NATO member states.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia's western Kursk region and had already sustained "losses".
South Korea, a major arms exporter, has a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict.
But President Yoon Suk Yeol said this week that Seoul is now not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons directly to Ukraine, given Pyongyang's military support of Moscow.
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