South Korea is beefing up its governmentwide countermeasures to prevent possible cyberattacks by North Korea, officials said Friday.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said the number of cyberattacks by North Korea more than doubled in the first half of this year.

The cyberattacks "are judged as a part of North Korean provocations to trigger public anxiety" in South Korea, the ministry said.

Last month, South Korean police said North Korea hacked into more than 140,000 computers at 160 South Korean firms and government agencies. About 42,000 documents were suspected to have been stolen, including defense-related information.

The ministry urged people to install antivirus software and avoid opening suspicious emails. 

South Korea has been on high alert against hacking attacks by North Korea following the North's fourth nuclear test in January and a series of missile launches in recent months. (Yonhap)