North Korean cybercriminals have stolen hundreds of files containing sensitive defense technology data from South Korean companies in an operation uncovered this year, ROK law enforcement has announced following a joint investigation with the FBI.

DPRK cyber actors also extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency from foreign and domestic companies in a separate ransomware campaign, the investigation found.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday, the cybercrime group Andariel allegedly infiltrated the networks of South Korean defense companies, research institutes and pharmaceutical companies to steal 1.2 terabytes of files containing sensitive data