North Korea’s UN mission voicemail system reportedly hacked

The voicemail system of a rare diplomatic phone line listed in the United Nations’ official directory and used to contact the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) directly has been unlawfully accessed. The DPRK’s permanent mission in New York is considered Pyongyang’s only official diplomatic mission on US territory.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that a voicemail discovered while contacting the diplomatic mission in late September featured an unidentified person imitating an East Asian accent and making sarcastic remarks about the socioeconomic situation and food supplies in the DPRK. After the monologue, the automated system said the mailbox was full.

When contacted about the incident, an employee of the diplomatic mission in New York declined to answer questions about the security breach and said the phone number in question did not belong to the mission.

Cybertechnology and security experts say voicemail systems are often accessed when default factory PINs have not been changed or passwords are guessed using automated calling programs. Experts say that the effective downgrading of diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang to a minimal level has weakened the functionality and security oversight of the New York communications channel. Voicemail systems let callers leave recorded messages when a line is not answered, making access controls such as PINs an important security measure.