N. Korea flag disrupts S. Korea church livestream in ‘hacking incident'
The incident occurred early Wednesday morning, when the livestream of the service by the Onnuri Church was abruptly filled with the North Korean flag, accompanied by what appeared to be Pyongyang's propaganda music.
The flag was displayed for about 20 seconds, a church official told AFP, adding that the incident had been reported to the police.
'During the early morning worship service on June 18, an unexpected video was broadcast due to a hacking incident,' the church said in a separate statement.
'We are currently conducting an urgent investigation into the cause of the incident and will take appropriate measures as soon as the situation is clarified.'
South Korea's state-run Korea Internet & Security Agency told AFP it was 'looking into the case.'
Another Protestant church in Seoul, the Naesoo-Dong Church, told AFP it also experienced a similar hacking incident shortly before its YouTube worship service early Wednesday morning.
An 'inappropriate' video was displayed for about 50 seconds due to an 'external hacking' attack, Pastor Oh Shin-young told AFP, adding that the footage had no apparent connection to North Korea.
South Korea, widely recognized as among the most wired countries in the world, has long been a target of cyberhacking by North Korea, which has been blamed for several major attacks in the past.
Police announced last year that North Korean hackers were behind the theft of sensitive data from a South Korean court computer network — including individuals' financial records — over a two-year period.
The stolen data amounted to more than one gigabyte.
Also last year, Seoul's spy agency said North Korean spies were using LinkedIn to pose as recruiters and entice South Koreans working at defense companies so the spies could access information on the firms' technology.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
North Korea's Kim vows to win anti-US battle marking Korean War anniversary
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would achieve victory in 'anti-imperalist, anti-US' battles, as the country marked the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, state media reported on Sunday. Kim 'affirmed that our state and its people would surely achieve the great cause of building a rich country with a strong army and become honorable victors in the anti-imperialist, anti-US showdown,' KCNA state news agency said, referring to his visit to a war museum on a previous day. North Korea signed an armistice agreement with the United States and China on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting in the three-year war. US generals signed the agreement representing the United Nations forces that had backed South Korea. North Korea calls July 27 'Victory Day' even though the armistice drew a border dividing the Korean peninsula roughly equally in area after the two sides had made major advances back and forth during the war. South Korea does not mark the day with any major events. But in a speech read out on Sunday at a commemoration ceremony honoring Korean War veterans in Washington, D.C., South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung pledged to further cement the country's alliance with the United States and protect freedom and peace. 'Through efforts in various fields including politics, economy, security, and culture, we will further strengthen the noble South Korea-US alliance forged in blood and make even more efforts to firmly protect freedom and peace on the Korean Peninsula,' Lee said. North Korea is now fighting alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to Russia's Kursk region, while Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. It may deploy more troops in July or August, South Korea has said. Kim also visited memorials honoring the veterans of the 1950-53 war including the Tower of Friendship remembering the Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers who fought with the North Koreans, and met soldiers in an artillery regiment to celebrate the day, state media KCNA said.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
China's famous Shaolin Temple leader is under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds
China's famous Shaolin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot is under investigation on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of project funds and temple assets. Shi Yongxin was alleged to have committed criminal offenses and seriously violated the Buddhist precepts by maintaining relationships with multiple women over a long period and fathering at least one child, according to a notice from the temple's authority on its WeChat account. The notice said multiple departments were conducting a joint investigation against Shi Yongxin, and relevant findings would be announced to the public in due course. The fame of the Shaolin Temple, based in the central Chinese province of Henan, has gone beyond a religious institution. It is also famous for its martial arts culture or kung fu, which has been referenced in many movies and TV dramas, including the 1982 film 'The Shaolin Temple' starring martial arts superstar Jet Li. The news about Shi Yongxin, whose original name Liu Yingcheng, ranked top on Chinese search engine Baidu and X-like social media platform Weibo on Sunday night. Local media reported that the abbot had been hit by scandalous accusations in the past, including claims that he fathered several children and embezzled money. According to news outlet Caixin Global, provincial investigation reports exonerated him of all charges in 2016. Shi Yongxin entered Shaolin Temple in 1981 and became its abbot in 1999, according to the temple's website. Xinhua in 2015 reported that he was known as a CEO monk as one of the first Chinese monks to obtain an MBA, and he had sparked controversy for developing commercial operations like lucrative kung fu shows and merchandise. Earlier on Sunday, Chinese local media outlets reported that authorities had dismissed an online notice claiming Shi Yongxin was intercepted by authorities while trying to flee with his mistresses and children as fake.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US says tariff deadline of August 1 is firm, no extensions
The US deadline of August 1 for imposing tariffs on its trading partners is firm and there will be no extensions, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday. 'So no extensions, no more grace periods. August 1, the tariffs are set. They'll go into place. Customs will start collecting the money, and off we go,' Lutnick told 'Fox News Sunday.' For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. After the levies kick in, President Donald Trump – who was negotiating Sunday in Scotland with European Union officials – is still willing to keep talking, Lutnick said. Of the Europeans, Lutnick said, 'You know they're hoping they make a deal, and it's up to President Trump, who's the leader of this negotiating table. We set the table.' So far five countries have struck deals with the Trump administration ahead of the Friday deadline as it tries to overhaul the global system of largely free trade by slapping tariffs on countries that the United States deems as engaging in unfair practices. These five are Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia the Philippines, and Japan. The levies they accepted are often higher than the new base rate of 10 percent that the United States has applied to most countries since April. But they are far below the levels the Trump administration threatened to impose if no deal were reached.
