Destroy 300 PCs during the PyeongChang opening ceremony … I found the hacker who thought it was North Korea.

It was revealed that a Russian military intelligence agency attempted a cyberattack on the world in 2015-2018. The transmission system paralysis that occurred during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony two years ago was also revealed as his actions. This is the first time the subject of a cyber attack has been identified at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The scene of the drone show at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018. The British Foreign Office and the US Department of Justice said it was revealed that Russian military intelligence agencies tried a cyberattack at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics two years ago. [인텔=연합뉴스]

According to The British Guardian, on the 19th (local time), the British Foreign Office and the United States Ministry of Justice launched a malicious cyberattack against the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in February 2018 by the organization ‘74455’ of the General Reconnaissance Office (GRU) of the Russian military intelligence agency. He announced that he has confirmed it. This fact was revealed through a joint effort between the UK’s National Cybersecurity Center and US intelligence agencies.

According to the UK government, the hackers attacked the computers of the Olympic Organizing Committee and its main partners by injecting a malware called ‘Olympic Destroyer’. As a result, 300 computers were damaged during the opening ceremony on February 9, 2018, 50 servers were destroyed, and Internet access was cut off.

During the opening ceremony for radio disturbances, the IPTV installed in the main press center was turned off and access was given to the home page of the organizing committee. Additionally, 52 types of services were suspended in four areas, including transportation, accommodation, athlete village management, and uniform distribution.

It turns out that GRU even recently attempted a cyberattack targeting the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The UK government explained that it tried to steal users’ information by creating fake websites and online accounts. However, he did not disclose the specific attack method or success.

The British government said Russian hackers appeared to have attempted cyberattacks when Russian athletes were banned from participating in global sports competitions due to doping problems.

The Russian military intelligence agency was investigated for launching a cyberattack against Olympic organizers when Russian athletes were banned from participating in world sporting events due to doping problems. [AP=연합뉴스]

In this regard, the US Department of Justice has prosecuted six GRU agents for cyberattacks. The US Department of Justice added seven counts, including fraud and identity theft, to the indictment, in addition to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

In December 2015 and December 2016, charges of hacking attempts against the Ukrainian power grid and the party of President Emmanuel Macron and local governments prior to the French presidential elections in 2017 were also included.

In addition, the United States Department of Justice believes that that same year, the NotPetya malicious code was disseminated to some companies around the world and computers in a Pennsylvania hospital. The attack caused more than 300 casualties worldwide and the damage was estimated to have exceeded $ 10 billion.

GRU also took aim at an international investigation into an attempt to poison Russian double spy Sergei Scripal in the UK in 2018. They even disguised their cyberattacks as sent by Chinese or North Korean hackers or the British and German media, the Department of Justice of the United States. The United States estimates that a Russian cyber attack destroyed thousands of computers and lost a billion dollars.

Deputy Attorney General John Demus criticized Russia’s attack on the Olympics on doping grounds, saying: “It’s like giving state resources to grumpy children” and “no country like Russia is malicious and irresponsibly arms cyber capabilities.”

Reporter Lee Min-jung [email protected]