Seoul accuses pro-Kremlin hackers of attacking websites over decision to monitor North Korean troops in Ukraine

Pro-Russia hacker groups have ramped up attacks on South Korean organizations following Seoul’s decision to send observers to Ukraine after North Korean troops joined Russian forces on the frontlines.

According to a statement from the South Korean president’s office on Friday, the country’s cyber agencies have detected an increase in Russia-linked attacks, primarily targeting civilian and government websites.

“Access to some organizations' websites has been temporarily delayed or disconnected, but aside from that, there has been no significant damage,” the statement said.

On Thursday, South Korea's presidential office held an emergency meeting to discuss the government’s response to the recent and anticipated cyber threats from Russia.

Cyberattacks by pro-Russian hacktivist groups targeting South Korea have occurred sporadically in the past but have increased since North Korea sent troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, according to South Korean authorities.

“Since attacks are likely to continue in response to the situation in Ukraine, we’re planning to boost our cyber threat readiness by monitoring threats and maintaining close cooperation with relevant organizations,” the president’s office stated.

Among the pro-Russian hacktivist groups claiming responsibility for the attacks on South Korea are relatively unknown threat actors like Z Pentest and Alligator Black Hat, as well as NoName057(16), known for its distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on European targets.

The hackers claimed to have accessed equipment at a warehouse storing Ukrainian grain in a South Korean city, sharing a video purportedly showing them breaching the granary’s electronic controls for loading grain elevators. They also claimed to have hacked other critical South Korean industrial facilities, though none of these attacks have been confirmed by local authorities.

Earlier this week, South Korea reported that thousands of North Korean troops are now deployed on Russian soil to support its war on Ukraine. On Friday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that North Korean troops are actively fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

According to Zelensky, nearly 11,000 North Korean soldiers are currently stationed in Russia near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine’s allies, including South Korea, the U.S. and the  European Union, have condemned Moscow’s cooperation with Pyongyang on the frontlines.