By Lee Kyung-min
Three men were indicted for buying hacking programs from North Korean agents to use for online gambling, prosecutors said Wednesday. .
The programs were allegedly used for the North's cyber attack against Korean firms and government agencies last year.
The three told investigators that they were planning to sell the software to an online betting site operator, who wanted to use it to cheat gamblers.
They first came into contact with the Shenyang-based North Korean hackers in April 2011, and paid them 14 million won ($13,658).
In return, the hackers provided a remote-controllable program called "Hacking Two," the server of which used the same IP address as the originator of the Denial-of-Service (DDos) attack in March last year, the prosecution said.
At the time, three banks ― Shinhan, NH Nonghyup and Jeju ― two insurance firms, and broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN were partially or completely crippled by malware.
"Hacking Two" gives information about which cards other players have, and also compromises the data of each player's computers.
They distributed the program through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program (P2P), most of which includes pornographic material and pirated movies.
Anyone who opened the file with the malware "Hacking Two" on their computer, instantly installed it on their computer, and 1,274 pieces of data were stolen, prosecutors said.
They and the North Korean hackers kept in touch from until November of last year through e-mail and an online messenger program.
During that time, they allegedly asked for a solution for bug detection. Specifically, they said they wanted their software to not be easily deleted by vaccine programs, according to the prosecution.
"They were in pursuit of monetary gain and money alone, not caring a bit that what they did compromised national cyber security. And they kept in touch asking for a solution for the bug report, even after the March DDos cyber attack last year. We will continue to go after those who funnel money illegally into North Korea," a prosecutor said.
Three men were indicted for buying hacking programs from North Korean agents to use for online gambling, prosecutors said Wednesday. .
The programs were allegedly used for the North's cyber attack against Korean firms and government agencies last year.
The three told investigators that they were planning to sell the software to an online betting site operator, who wanted to use it to cheat gamblers.
They first came into contact with the Shenyang-based North Korean hackers in April 2011, and paid them 14 million won ($13,658).
In return, the hackers provided a remote-controllable program called "Hacking Two," the server of which used the same IP address as the originator of the Denial-of-Service (DDos) attack in March last year, the prosecution said.
At the time, three banks ― Shinhan, NH Nonghyup and Jeju ― two insurance firms, and broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN were partially or completely crippled by malware.
"Hacking Two" gives information about which cards other players have, and also compromises the data of each player's computers.
They distributed the program through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program (P2P), most of which includes pornographic material and pirated movies.
Anyone who opened the file with the malware "Hacking Two" on their computer, instantly installed it on their computer, and 1,274 pieces of data were stolen, prosecutors said.
They and the North Korean hackers kept in touch from until November of last year through e-mail and an online messenger program.
During that time, they allegedly asked for a solution for bug detection. Specifically, they said they wanted their software to not be easily deleted by vaccine programs, according to the prosecution.
"They were in pursuit of monetary gain and money alone, not caring a bit that what they did compromised national cyber security. And they kept in touch asking for a solution for the bug report, even after the March DDos cyber attack last year. We will continue to go after those who funnel money illegally into North Korea," a prosecutor said.
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