Israel Thwarts Major Cyber Attack by North Korean Hackers

Israel’s Ministry of Defense thwarted an attack by a group of cyber criminals called the Lazarus Group, which is “backed by a foreign country.”

By Ezra Stone, United with Israel

A band of malicious hackers that calls itself the “Lazarus Group” mounted a major cyber attack on Israel’s defense industry, the Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday.

“Members of the group used various hacking techniques, including ‘social engineering’ and impersonation,” explained a statement from Israel’s Directorate of Security for the Defense Establishment.

Among the hackers tactics were “fake profiles” on a social network called LinkedIn, which is popular among professionals in the high-tech sector.”

“Following an investigation of the case, it has been discovered that the attempted cyber-attack was conducted by an international cyber group called ‘Lazarus,’ an organization that is backed by a foreign country,” explained the Directorate of Security.

According to many cyber security experts, the Lazarus Group is linked to North Korea.

“The attackers impersonated managers, CEOs and leading officials in HR departments, as well as representatives of international companies, and contacted employees of leading defense industries in Israel, with the aim of developing discussions and tempting them with various job opportunities,” the statement continued.

This series of attacks were sniffed out in real time, and stopped in their tracks by the Tech Unit under the Director of Security for Defense Establishment in the Ministry of Defense.

“The attackers attempted to compromise the computers of these employees, to infiltrate their networks and gather sensitive security information,” explained the Directorate. “The attackers also attempted to use the official websites of several companies in order to hack their systems.”

The attacks were caught before inflicting any damage and there was reportedly “no harm or disruption made to [any] networks.”

The Directorate of Security is investigating the attempted breach.

The Lazarus Group has been identified as the culprit of several high profile thefts, in addition to security breaches on major corporations, such as Sony.

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