Hackers Attack Israel’s Defence Sector

North Korea is hacking Israeli defence businesses with fake job offers with the intention to steal sensitive data. 

Israel’s Ministry of Defence say the hackers are part of the Lazarus Group which has been linked to N. Korea by the US Intelligence. Using a method seen previously in 2019, the hackers created false LinkedIn accounts impersonating CEOs and top officials at multinational companies to place the fake jobs on the market.

The attackers are interested in compromising the employees’ computers, infiltrating their networks, and stealing sensitive security information, the Ministry of Defense said.

The leading Israeli cyber security firm, Clears has been tracking the campaign and report that the hackers impersonate major defense companies  the likes of Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and BAE. After making contact with targets, the hackers continued conversations with victims over WhatsApp and ClearSky. Israel’s Ministry of Defense said it had blocked the attempts in “real time,” adding that “no harm or disruption was made to their networks.” 

The attack was deflected “in real time” and that there was no “harm or disruption” to its computer systems, according to Israeli Defense sources.

However, security researchers at ClearSky, say the North Korean hackers penetrated the computer systems and were likely to have stolen a large amount of classified data.

Israeli officials fear the data could be shared with North Korea’s ally, Iran. Also according to ClearSky, the North Korean hackers’ campaign has succeeded on a number of occasions, infecting “several dozens” of companies and organisations both in Israel and around the world.

North Korean government-linked hackers have continued to pose as job recruiters or send fake job offers even though it is not apparent if any of their previous efforts have been successful.

The North Korean attack on Israeli’s defense industry began with a LinkedIn message in June, ClearSky researchers said. North Korean hackers posing as a Boeing headhunter sent a message to a senior engineer at an Israeli government-owned company that manufactures weapons for the Israeli military and intelligence.

Some officials fear that classified data stolen by North Korea could be shared with Iran, who are the main suspects in a sophisticated attempt to poison Israels's water sytem earlier this year.

Now this attack adds Israel to the list of countries and companies that have been targeted by North Korea’s hacking unit, known to private security analysts as the Lazarus Group. American and Israeli officials have said the Lazarus Group, also known as Hidden Cobra, is backed by Pyongyang.

Since the start of the year, Israel has reported attempted cyber-attacks on power stations and water utilities, with officials pointing the finger at Iran or Iranian-backed groups.

Reuters:           New York Times:         Deccan Herald:         CyberScoop: 

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