The National Intelligence Service(NIS) warned that North Korea has been carrying out cyber attacks against South Korean semiconductor equipment companies since the second half of last year.

The nation's spy agency said Monday in a press release, that the configuration management server and security policy server of 'Company A' and 'Company B' were hacked in December of last year, with 'Company B' being targeted again this past February, as product design drawings and facility site photos were stolen.

The NIS said it discovered North Korean hacking organizations targeting companies whose servers were connected to the Internet and had vulnerabilities exposed.

It added that the organizations mainly used the 'Living off the Land' (LotL) technique, which minimizes the use of malicious codes and instead attacks the servers using normal programs installed within.

The agency further explained that the increase in cyber attacks against the semiconductor equipment companies indicate the regime is likely to have begun preparing to produce its own semiconductors due to difficulties in procuring them due to sanctions, as well as increased demand due to the development of advanced weapons, such as satellites and missiles.