The National Intelligence Service(NIS) says North Korea’s intelligence bureau is snatching confidential materials from major state agencies and high-tech companies using advanced hacking techniques. 

The nation’s spy agency disclosed the assessment Tuesday as it advised related industries to exercise caution, warning of attacks that target software supply chains. 

According to the agency, in October a North Korean organization hacked into the email of an employee of the company in charge of maintaining a local government computer network and hijacked the server access account. 

The organization then logged into the local government’s remote management server and sought to steal administrative data.
 
Last month, according to the NIS, the organization installed malware in a defense contractor’s groupware in an attempt to steal internal data, including employees’ emails and network diagrams.

To prevent damage from such attacks, the NIS said it is necessary to upgrade security by enhancing authentication procedures and blocking external connections. 

The agency stressed that a single attack against an IT solution that is used to manage and distribute internal data can lead to a massive leak of confidential information.