Hackers steal data of N Korean defectors

Almost 1,000 North Korean defectors have had their personal data leaked after a computer at a South Korean resettlement centre was hacked, the unification ministry said.

A personal computer at the state-run centre was found to have been "infected with a malicious code".

The ministry said this is thought to be the first large-scale information leak involving North Korean defectors.

The hackers' identity and the origin of the cyber-attack is not yet confirmed.

The North Gyeongsang resettlement centre is among 25 institutes the ministry runs to help an estimated 32,000 defectors adjust to life in South Korea.

The North Korean government does not know the identities of all citizens who have defected. Some may be considered "missing persons" or they may have even been registered as dead.

Some 997 North Korean defectors have now been informed that their names, birth dates and addresses have been leaked but it is not clear what impact this will have.

Analysts say there are some concerns that the leak could endanger the defectors' family members who remain in North Korea.

Sokeel Park, South Korea Country Director for Liberty in North Korea, an international NGO that assists North Korean defectors, says this hack will make other defectors feel less safe living in South Korea. They may change their names, phone numbers and home addresses.

Investigations by the unification ministry and the police are currently ongoing, with the ministry saying it would "do its best to prevent such an incident from happening again".

On 19 December, the ministry became aware of the leak after they found a malicious program installed on a desktop at a centre in North Gyeongsang province.

In September, US prosecutors charged a North Korean man alleged to have been involved in creating the malicious software used to cripple the UK's National Health Service.

The 2017 incident left NHS staff reverting to pen and paper after being locked out of computer systems.

One of the most high profile hacks linked to North Korea in recent years targeted Sony's entertainment business in 2014 - wiping out massive amounts of data and leading to the online distribution of emails, and sensitive personal data.

North Korean state media has also often threatened to silence defectors in the South who make derogatory statements about the regime.

Agencies