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Scrape Timestamp (UTC): 2024-03-12 06:34:25.274

Source: https://thehackernews.com/2024/03/south-korean-citizen-detained-in-russia.html

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South Korean Citizen Detained in Russia on Cyber Espionage Charges. Russia has detained a South Korean national for the first time on cyber espionage charges and transferred from Vladivostok to Moscow for further investigation. The development was first reported by Russian news agency TASS. "During the investigation of an espionage case, a South Korean citizen Baek Won-soon was identified and detained in Vladivostok, and put into custody under a court order," an unnamed source was quoted as saying. Won-soon has been accused of handing over classified "top secret" information to unnamed foreign intelligence agencies. According to the agency, Won-soon was detained in Vladivostok earlier this year and shifted to Moscow late last month. He is said to be currently at the Lefortovo pretrial detention center. His arrest has been extended for another three months, until June 15, 2024. The detention center is currently also the place where American journalist Evan Gershkovich is being held, awaiting trial on suspicion of espionage. Gershkovich has denied the charges. The development comes amid burgeoning geopolitical ties between Russia and North Korea, even as state-sponsored hacking groups associated with the latter have targeted the Kremlin to pursue their strategic intelligence-gathering missions. It also comes days after the U.S. arrested a former Google engineer for allegedly stealing proprietary information from the tech giant while covertly working for two China-based companies, including one founded by him last year prior to his resignation. State of AI in the Cloud 2024 Find out what 150,000+ cloud accounts revealed about the AI surge. Goodbye, Atlassian Server. Goodbye… Backups? Protect your data on Atlassian Cloud from disaster with daily backups and on-demand restores. Take Action Fast with Censys Search for Security Teams Stay ahead of advanced threat actors with best-in-class threat intelligence from Censys Search.

Daily Brief Summary

NATION STATE ACTIVITY // South Korean National Arrested in Russia for Alleged Espionage

Russia has detained a South Korean citizen, Baek Won-soon, on charges of cyber espionage and transferred him from Vladivostok to Moscow for further investigation.

Won-soon is accused of transferring classified "top secret" information to unnamed foreign intelligence agencies.

Initially detained in Vladivostok earlier this year, Won-soon's arrest has now been extended until June 15, 2024, and he has been relocated to Lefortovo pretrial detention center in Moscow.

The same detention facility is currently holding American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is awaiting trial on suspicion of espionage, charges he has denied.

The arrest comes at a time of increasing geopolitical collaboration between Russia and North Korea, the latter known for its state-sponsored hacking efforts targeting Russia for intelligence.

Additionally, the article mentions the recent arrest of a former Google engineer in the U.S. for allegedly stealing proprietary information while working for China-based companies.