South Korean unification ministry said on Friday, a South Korean resettlement centre was hacked that has led leaking personal data of around 1,000 North Korean defectors.
They acknowledged the personal data leakage after a personal computer at the South Korean resettlement centre founded “infected with a malicious code”.
According to news reported by BBC, the ministry said this incident would be the very first large-scale information leak that has also involved North Korean defectors. However, the hacker’s identity and the exact origin of the cyber-attack was not yet confirmed and announced.
The North Korean government have no knowledge of all citizens who have defected to South Korea. They might consider some of them as a “missing persons” case, or might they have been registered as dead in North Korean government file.
According to reports, few 997 North Koreas defectors were acknowledged that their personal data such as name, addresses and birth dates have been leaked but still it is not clear what impact they will have on themselves.
According to analysts, the leak could in future endanger the defectors’ family those who still remain in North Korea.
South Korea Country Director for Liberty in North Korea, Sokeel Park, an international NGO who assisted North Korean defectors, asserted that this hack and leak would make uncomfortable and unsafe living of the other defectors who are living in South Korea. They may change their phone numbers, home address and names.
One expert on North Korean cyber-warfare, Simon Choi said: “[There is a North Korean hacking] group [that] mainly targets [the] North Korean defector community… we are aware that [this group] tried to hack a Hana centre last year.”
He added: “They represent an asymmetric advantage for the North Korean authorities because attribution for cyber-attacks is so difficult and because the North Korean government intentionally relies so little on the internet.”