South Korean police have arrested the head of an unnamed company and five of its employees who manufactured more than 240,000 malicious satellite receivers. The devices were equipped with DDoS attack functionality right out of the box at the buyer’s request or were updated after the sale.
South Korean police reportedly discovered the malicious scheme after receiving intelligence from Interpol and as a result of the actions of one of the suspects, who was put on an international wanted list.
“In July, Interpol provided us with information that an ‘illegal broadcaster’ (Company A, based overseas) was importing satellite receivers equipped with DDoS attack capabilities manufactured by a Korean company (Company B),” the press release reads. “Analysis of the equipment showed that DDoS capabilities were installed on the devices during firmware updates.”
Although the law enforcement statement did not disclose the names of the companies in question, it is known that both had been operating since 2017.
It all started in November 2018, when an unnamed buyer approached a South Korean manufacturer with a special order and asked to equip satellite receivers with functions for carrying out DDoS attacks. Allegedly, this was necessary to counteract attacks from competitors.
The order was completed, although it is not specified what DDoS functions the devices ultimately received. However, law enforcement officials note that such attacks aimed at external systems are always illegal in any case.
Between January 2019 and September 2024, the manufacturer shipped more than 240,000 satellite receivers, 98,000 of which had the DDoS module pre-installed. The rest received malicious functions through subsequent firmware updates.
Worse, it is noted that regular receiver users also unwittingly took part in these attacks and may even have noticed a decrease in the performance of their devices during the DDoS.
Currently, six of those arrested have already been charged, and the court has approved the seizure of the company’s assets and the confiscation of 61 billion South Korean won (about 43.5 million US dollars). According to law enforcement, this is how much the unnamed company earned from selling malicious devices.
However, the buyers of the malicious equipment remain at large, and Korean police say they are working with their counterparts in other countries to quickly track them down and arrest them.
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