Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Hackers Penetrate South Korean Missle Manufacturer

Via The Register UK -

Black hat hackers were able to steal information from a South Korean missile manufacturer after planting malicious code on the company's computer system, according to news reports.

According to the country's National Security Research Institute, the code was installed on the computer network of LIGNex1 Hyundai Heavy Industries, a manufacturer of guided missiles, ground-to-air weapons, war ships, and submarines.

"The research institute suspects the culprits are Chinese or North Korean hackers but doesn't know specifically what information they stole," an official said. "In the worst case, the blueprints of missiles and Aegis ship could have been stolen."

The malicious code was installed in March and was only detected last month. Articles reporting the incident are here and here.

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Wikipedia outlines the Aegis combat system....
The Aegis combat system is an integrated weapons system used by the United States Navy. It is both an integrated single ship system and a ship-to-ship network. The Aegis combat system is one of the most advanced and most capable defense systems currently in use. It is also used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Spanish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, and Republic of Korea Navy. The Royal Australian Navy has selected the Aegis system for placement on their new destroyers. A total of 108 Aegis-equipped ships have been deployed in five navies worldwide.

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