Most overseas-linked attacks on South Korea’s finance sector remain unidentified

South Korea’s financial companies faced 18 hacking incidents believed to have come from abroad over about two years and nine months.

Investigators identified the attackers in only two cases; in 13 others, they could only estimate the country linked to an internet address, and three had no known starting point.

Attackers can disguise or route their internet traffic through other countries, so an address does not prove who carried out an attack or where they are from.

Better tools to trace attacks could help financial companies investigate and defend against them.