N Korea Hackers Steal Wing Blueprints for US F-15 Fighters

Pyongyang hackers stole defense documents including US F-15 fighter jet designs in the latest of its cyberattacks on Seoul, media reported Monday, citing the South Korean police.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to The Wall Street Journal, the North Korean hackers have stolen over 40,000 defense industry documents in attacks on two companies beginning in 2014 and were discovered earlier this year. One of these companies, Korean Air Lines Co., reportedly said that the wing blueprints for an F-15 jet fighter, used by the country’s military, as well as pictures of parts of unmanned spy planes, were among the documents stolen from it.

"North Korea turns out to have been preparing for a long time to try to launch a countrywide cyberattack," the Korean National Police Agency said, as quoted by the paper.

The police reportedly said that by detecting the cyberattack they prevented the alleged start of a larger-scale attack. The attack was carried out from the same Pyongyang internet address that was used in a 2013 cyberattack on South Korean banks and television stations, the paper reported, citing police.

South Korea's military has been targeted by hacker attacks since 2014. The North has been suspect of carrying out the attacks, but no decisive evidence has been uncovered. Seoul believes that Pyongyang operates a 6,000-strong special hacker unit.

In March, South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, reportedly said that North Korea had stolen information from dozens of Seoul top government officials' smartphones.