North Korea hacked the South Korean president's aide's emails

The office of the South Korean president confirmed that North Korea infiltrated the personal email accounts of one of his aides.

The breach happened before President Yoon Suk Yeol's official visit to the UK in November last year.

According to the president's office, the staff member's email account was compromised because he used it for official business.

According to a local newspaper, a high-ranking government official stated that hackers had successfully obtained Mr Yoon's itinerary for his trip.

The Kukmin Ilbo daily said that the president's texts had also been stolen.

However, the president's administration refused to disclose the nature of the stolen material.

It is believed that this is the first instance in which the North has effectively infiltrated a member of the South Korean president's administration via hacking.

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The president's office emphasised that its security system had not been compromised.

The statement stated, "The breach occurred due to a negligent infraction of security protocols by a specific administrator who utilised a commercial email for professional activities. "

North Korea employs cyber espionage to unlawfully acquire both financial resources and sensitive data, using ever-advanced methods.

Pyongyang is under severe international sanctions, and its cybercriminals want to illicitly acquire substantial amounts of money, often in the form of cryptocurrency, to finance the dictatorship and its nuclear weapons project.

It is estimated that the total amount stolen since 2016 is approximately $3 billion.

North Korea is believed to engage in cyberattacks to steal classified information, such as the specifications of cutting-edge weaponry.

The South Korean government official, who talked to the Kukmin Ilbo anonymously, expressed profound astonishment and dismay upon discovering the breach. They emphasized that this incident potentially jeopardized Mr. Yoon's security while overseas.

In November, President Yoon embarked on a three-day state visit to London, where he met with King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Before the president's tour commenced, the South Korean administration acknowledged the event's occurrence and promptly implemented the appropriate procedures to resolve it.

The company implemented measures to enhance its security, such as increasing awareness among its staff, to avoid a recurrence of a similar occurrence.