This was reported by Yonhap, citing sources in the South Korean intelligence agency, Ukrinform reported.

According to the source, South Korean intelligence is closely monitoring Pyongyang’s attempts to use AI for cyberattacks and recently confirmed that North Korean hackers are using AI to find hacking targets and hacking techniques.

At the same time, the possibility of North Korea using productive artificial intelligence in real cyber attacks has not yet been determined.

An average of 1.6 million hacking attempts were recorded each day in the public sector in South Korea last year, a 36% increase from a year earlier, the intelligence agency said. While 80% of them are hackers from North Korea, 5% are the second among Chinese cybercriminals.

The targets of North Korean hacking attacks varied and depended on the political agenda and interests of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

At the beginning of the year, after Kim ordered North Korea to develop plans to deal with the food shortage crisis, Pyongyang’s hacking groups stole information from South Korean agricultural and fishing companies.

In August and September, many attacks focused on Korean shipbuilding companies following Kim’s order to strengthen North Korea’s naval power.

Over the past four years, Pyongyang has carried out hacking attacks on defense companies in at least 25 countries around the world, including South Korea and Russia. Most of these targeted the aviation industry (25%), tank building (17%) and aviation (16%) businesses, and shipbuilding facilities (11%).

North Korea is also suspected of employing IT workers at foreign companies to install malicious code in software and steal cryptocurrencies.

This year, intelligence agencies expect an increase in cyber threats to South Korea due to rising tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang, as well as general elections scheduled for April.

As reported by Ukrinform, Microsoft has discovered a Russian hacker group funded by the Kremlin that hacked the company’s corporate networks and stole emails and documents from employee accounts.