North Korea Hacked South Korean Presidential Staffer’s Email

South Korea has confirmed that North Korea hacked into the personal email of a staffer working for President Yoon Suk Yeol. The presidential office released a statement stating that the hack took place ahead of President Yook Sun Yeol’s visits to Britain and France in November last year.

During his trip to the UK, President Yoon met with King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

“A violation of security rules resulting from a staffer who used their private email for work was the cause, and security strengthening measures were taken to prevent a recurrence, including an enhancement of security awareness,” the presidential office said in the statement. According to The Korea Times the presidential office stated that the official security system was not attacked.

Local reports in the South Korean media also claimed that personal messages by the president had been accessed during the hack.

While North Korea has carried out hacking attacks in the past this is the first time that an official aide to the president has been hacked. The presidential office says hacking attacks are a common occurrence.

Seoul had also blamed Pyongyang for carrying out a hack attack ahead of US-South Korea drills in August last year though the South Korean  government stated no major information was accessed.                     

Hack attacks from North Korea against the South, for both information and cryptocurrency, which it uses as its source of funds, are common. Many South Korean citizens are also reported to have fallen for phishing messages sent by North Korean hackers.

The BBC claims that Pyongyang stole as much as $3bn dollars since 2016.