North Korean Hackers Breach Sawiris’ Orascom Network
- Dozens of Orascom computers breached by North Korean hackers
- Troubles grew after Orascom’s key backers in North Korea died
Millions of North Koreans now carry cellular phones
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
North Korea’s increasingly aggressive hackers are now going after one of the few foreign companies that has been willing to work with the intransigent regime.
Kim Jong Un’s cyber warriors broke into dozens of desktop computers and laptops at Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding SAE, the Egyptian giant owned by billionaire Naguib Sawiris that helped build North Korea’s communication networks, according to people familiar with the matter. Hackers gained access through emails laced with malware that exploits a security hole in Adobe Flash, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The vulnerability has since been patched by security experts.