The Seoul government on Monday slammed North Korea’s latest hacking into the emails of South Korea’s diplomats and security-related officials as a “grave provocation.”

The prosecution announced earlier in the day that an organization believed to be composed of North Korean hackers attempted to hack into the email accounts of some 90 South Korean officials and experts between January and June this year. The cyberattacks consequently exposed passwords to the private accounts of 56 of the officials.

The targets included officials working at the ministries of defense, foreign affairs and unification, as well as journalists covering the ministries and professors belonging to North Korea-related research institutes, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said. 

They said they confirmed the hackers utilized 27 phishing sites to lure officials into revealing their passwords. An investigation is underway to figure out whether any confidential information was leaked.

“It is important to avoid using personal emails for work and to consistently change the password,” prosecutors said.

Both the unification and foreign affairs ministries said the hacked email accounts were private and that the officials do not use the accounts for work.

“North Korea must immediately halt such actions,” said a Unification Ministry official speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

The South Korean government has been stepping up measures against cyberattacks such as by attempting to pass the Anti-Cyberterrorism Act, which is being pushed by the government but is opposed by opposition parties, citing excessive government control on citizens.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)