1K N. Korean Defectors Just Got Hacked

Names, addresses of people living in South were taken
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 28, 2018 12:33 AM CST
Hackers Steal Details of 997 N. Korean Defectors
North Korean defectors weep in front of a wire fence decorated with ribbons written with messages wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas in Paju near the demilitarized zone of Panmunjom, South Korea   (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea says it is responding to a hacking attack that stole the names and addresses of nearly 1,000 North Korean defectors who resettled in the South. A regional office of the Hana resettlement center said Friday that it has been notifying affected defectors after discovering last week that one of its computers had been breached sometime around November, the AP reports. South Korea's Unification Ministry said the names, home addresses, and birthdays of 997 defectors living in the country's southeast were stolen. Police are investigating the hacking attack but have yet to identify the source.

The ministry said it has found no further signs of hacking or data breaches after investigating Hana's offices around the country earlier this week. Hana runs 25 offices nationwide to provide assistance to North Korean defectors who resettled in the South. About 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea, mostly traveling via China, since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korea in past years has accused North Korea of cyberattacks on South Korean business and government websites, but the North has denied responsibility. (A US court ordered North Korea to pay $501 million to the family of American student Otto Warmbier.)

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