Police add personnel to team investigating cyberattacks against financial institutions

Police said Friday they have assigned more people to a team probing a series of recent hacking attacks against financial institutions.

The move is expected to bolster the investigative capabilities of law enforcement, which is trying to respond to the latest unlawful cyber activities.

The National Office of Investigation said it added 15 more personnel to the 28-member team probing the attacks against multiple financial companies, including Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank.

The expanded work force includes digital forensic experts as police have sought to trace the path of the cyberattacks with international cooperation.

This latest action comes as President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday instructed the government to dedicate more personnel and resources to prevent and minimize damage from the recent series of hacking attacks.

U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike earlier said an unidentified hacker used AI-powered hacking tools to breach multiple Korean financial institutions and steal data.

Korean cybersecurity company Logpresso said Friday that signs were detected suggesting that the suspect, identified by CrowdStrike, may be a member of Chinese-affiliated DDoS-for-hire organizations, such as GodNet and VITAS.

Yonhap