The identity of a popular retail app targeted for fake app distribution by a North Korean hacker organization.

North Korean hacker group ‘Kimsuky’
Suspected of distributing a modified Coupang app
Uploaded with malicious code embedded

The North Korean hacker group ‘Kimsuky’, which gained fame from the 2014 hacking incident of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, has reportedly been caught creating and distributing a counterfeit of a domestic e-commerce application.

The National Intelligence Service announced on the 26th that it had detected signs of Kimsuky modifying and distributing an app. The NIS only mentioned that this app has about 20 million users in Korea.

However, according to the security industry, the app that Kimsuky tampered with was ‘Coupang’. They created a modified Coupang app embedded with malicious code and uploaded it to a German server. They were ready to distribute it through email and text messages.

The modified Coupang app is almost identical to the original app in terms of icon design and main screen layout.

If a user installs the app on their smartphone through a link attached to an unverified email, the malicious code is executed. The malicious code steals texts, contacts, and photo files stored on the smartphone and sends them to the hacker.

In response, the NIS emphasized the need for more attention to smartphone security, such as using official app stores to install apps and regularly updating antivirus apps.

Meanwhile, Coupang is known to have about 20 million active customers. It has already received praise for successfully taking the lead in the retail industry by surpassing E-Mart in sales in the first half of this year.

Coupang surpassed E-Mart’s sales for the first time since its establishment in the first quarter, with a gap of 440 billion won (approximately $370 million). In the second quarter, Coupang pushed E-Mart aside with a difference of 400 billion won (approximately $337 million) in sales, earning 7.6749 trillion won (approximately $6.5 billion).

If Coupang earns higher sales than E-Mart in the third quarter as well, it is expected that the view that the dominance of the retail industry has shifted to Coupang will be solidified.