SOUTH KOREA/FILE: U.S. troops' details leaked in cyber attacks aimed at South Korea

Record ID: 353886

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA/FILE: U.S. troops' details leaked in cyber attacks aimed at South Korea
  • Date: 26th June 2013
  • Summary: UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 26, 2013) (REUTERS) LAPTOP MONITOR SHOWING WEBSITE READING: "U.S. ARMY PERSONAL INFO OF SOLDIERS" MONITOR SHOWING LIST OF LEAKED PERSONAL DETAILS MONITOR SHOWING WEBSITE WHICH PERSONAL DETAILS OF PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE "CHEONGWADAE" WEBSITE USER
  • Embargoed: 11th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict,Defence / Military,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVABKCQK812CX63IIN3ARGTUO6OB
  • Story Text: Personal details of tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been leaked to websites, South Korean online security film said on Wednesday (June 26), a day after cyber attacks disabled access to government and news sites.
    South Korean online security film Red Alert said that personal details of more than two million South Korean ruling party workers and 40,000 U.S. troops, including those stationed in South Korea, have been released on unspecified websites.
    "Personal details of people including U.S. soldiers, users of presidential office websites, and members of the ruling Saenuri party, have been posted on websites," said Ahn Sang-hwan, the research engineer of Red Alert.
    The online security film added personal details such as dates of birth and ranks of 40,000 U.S. troops including members of the 25th Infantry Division and the 3rd Marine Division were leaked to unspecified websites.
    The hacking attacks on Tuesday (June 25), the anniversary of the start of the Korean War in 1950, brought down the main websites of South Korea's presidential office and some local newspapers, prompting cyber security officials to raise the alert.
    "Our government raised the alert from 'attention level' to 'caution level' after a cyber attack on sixteen websites including government bodies and local media," said Oh Sung-kon, the director of Cyber Security Policy Division at the South Korean Ministry of Science, Information and Communications Technology (ITC) and Planning.
    The websites of the presidential Blue House and the Prime Minister's office were down for more than six hours after cyber attacks on Tuesday.
    An official at the Communications Ministry said authorities were probing the nature of the attacks and declined to comment on the reports of leaked information about U.S. troops.
    The U.S. military in South Korea, where 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed, did not immediately comment.
    North and South Korea remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The U.S. troops' presence is aimed at ensuring the truce holds.
    The identity and motives of the attackers were not immediately clear, but the reports come as cyber security and surveillance have become a global issue, with the United States seeking fugitive former security contractor Edward Snowden who leaked details about U.S. surveillance to the media.
    North Korea has been blamed for previous cyber attacks on South Korean banks and government networks, although it denies responsibility and has said it has also been a victim.
    North Korea is believed to be running a large corps of computer experts aimed at hacking into the networks of governments and financial institutions and was blamed most notably for the 2011 shutdown of a South Korean commercial bank.
    Last week it accused the United States of being at the forefront of rights abuse, pointing to Snowden's revelations of mass surveillance operations by the National Security Agency.
    On Tuesday, access to some North Korean news sites was blocked after the hacker group Anonymous vowed to direct a denial-of-service attack direct at them.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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