New disk wiper malware linked to attacks in South Korea, researchers say

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9240440/New_disk_wiper_malware_linked_to_attacks_in_South_Korea_researchers_say

By Lucian Constantin
IDG News Service
June 28, 2013

A new piece of malware designed to delete files from hard disk drives and 
render computers unable to boot targets South Korean users, according to 
researchers from security firm Symantec.

The malware is similar to the Jokra Trojan program that was used in March 
to wipe the hard drives of computers belonging to several banks and TV 
broadcasters in South Korea, leading to significant disruptions of their 
operations.

The attack in March was attributed by security experts to a hacker gang 
called "DarkSeoul" that's also believed to be responsible for the 
distributed denial-of-service attacks from Tuesday against South Korean 
websites, including that of South Korean President Park Guen-hye.

The new hard-drive wiper malware is called Trojan.Korhigh and was found by 
Symantec researchers during their investigations into cyberattacks in 
South Korea. "Trojan.Korhigh has the functionality to systematically 
delete files and overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the compromised 
computer, rendering it unusable," the Symantec researchers said Thursday 
in a blog post.

[...]



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