December 2, 2024 at 04:14PM
South Korean police arrested a CEO and five employees for producing 240,000 satellite receivers with illegal DDoS attack capabilities. The receivers, sold to a foreign company, were used to counter competition. Authorities, alerted by Interpol, seized assets worth $4.35 million. The purchasing company operators remain at large.
**Meeting Takeaways:**
1. **Arrests Made**: South Korean police arrested a CEO and five employees for producing over 240,000 satellite receivers with DDoS attack functionality.
2. **Companies Involved**: Two unnamed companies have been trading since 2017. One company, referred to as an “illegal broadcasting company,” made a special request in November 2018 for DDoS capabilities.
3. **DDoS Functionality Usage**: The DDoS functionality was allegedly intended to counteract attacks from a competitor. The specifics of the attacks conducted using the devices were not detailed, but targeting external systems with such attacks is illegal.
4. **Impact on Users**: Users of the satellite receivers were unknowingly involved in DDoS attacks, which may have degraded their device performance.
5. **Production Timeline**: From January 2019 to September 2024, 240,000 satellite receivers were shipped, with 98,000 having DDoS functionality pre-installed and the remainder updated via firmware.
6. **Investigation Initiated by Interpol**: Korean police acted on intelligence from Interpol, which indicated potential illegal activities involving the devices.
7. **Charges and Legal Actions**: The arrested individuals face charges under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. The court has seized the company’s assets and confiscated approximately 61 billion KRW ($4.35 million).
8. **Next Steps**: Police are seeking international cooperation to locate and apprehend the operators of the purchasing company, who remain free.