Urgency rising in NIS hacking case, with threat that evidence could be destroyed

Posted on : 2015-07-24 16:32 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Opposition urging for a search and seizure operation to seize IP records before they disappear
 who are suspected of using mobile phone hacking programs to monitor civilians
who are suspected of using mobile phone hacking programs to monitor civilians

Concerns are being raised over the possibility of important evidence being destroyed in the National Intelligence Service (NIS) illegal hacking case, with some suggesting the truth could be buried forever if the matter isn’t investigated swiftly.

One reason for the rush is the possibility that domestic IP address records that provide evidence of hacking attempts against South Korean citizens last June could disappear as early as next month.

To date, records of South Korean IP addresses in data leaked from the Italian security company Hacking Team remain the most powerful evidence that the NIS attempted to hack devices belonging to South Korean citizens. IP addresses discovered for three South Korean smartphones showed they were targeted for hacking on June 3, 4, and 17. All three were assigned to SK Telecom, which means remaining log records on the company’s servers could be checked to identify the individuals targeted for NIS hacking. Indeed, the NIS is reported to have recently inquired with SKT on the possibility of determining hacking targets from the IP records saved on its servers.

Telecommunications companies typically store log records for a period of three to six months - which means information on the SKT servers about NIS hacking targets could be erased as soon as a month from now.

“The more time prosecutors take, the more of a chance it gives for important evidence to be destroyed,” said Sogang University law professor Lee Ho-jung.

“We urgently need a search and seizure on evidence from the telecom‘s servers and the computers the NIS used in the hacking,” Lee added.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) filed a complaint the same day with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office against current and former NIS directors, who are suspected of using mobile phone hacking programs to monitor civilians. The party is accusing them of violating the Protection of Communication Secrets Act with illegal monitoring, the Information and Communication Act with hacking, and the Criminal Procedure Act with evidence destruction.

The NPAD’s accusation, which was filed in the name of chairman Moon Jae-in, calls for a “thorough investigation of the NIS’s illegal acquisition of information through the use of hacking software and the destruction of evidence to conceal this.” The party originally planned to list former NIS directors Won Sei-hoon, Nam Jae-joon, and Lee Byung-kee and current director Lee Byung-ho as defendants, along with the agency’s first, second, and third deputy directors and the head of its inspection office. After determining the nature of the case made it difficult to specify individual officials, it opted instead to file the complaint against “NIS agents connected with the charges.”

It also filed another complaint against NanaTech, the company that brokered the hacking program transactions.

Earlier that day, NPAD citizens’ information protection committee head Ahn Cheol-soo spoke about the situation during a round table meeting.

“As of this afternoon, we have requested thirty pieces of information in seven areas to investigate the hacking allegations, but the NIS has yet to make any response,” Ahn said.

“We need investigative authorities to examine not only who directed the hacking and who the targets were, but also the factors and reasons behind the death of the NIS employee who recently took his own life,” he added.

  

By Lee Se-young and Heo Seung, staff reporters

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

 

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