I read the article that is North Korea stole the data of millions of online consumers. South Korean police said Thursday that the North's main intelligence agency stole the personal data of more than 10 million customers of an online shopping mall in the South, in what they said was an attempt to obtain foreign currency. Online shopping mall Interpark was the subject of an online attack in May on a server containing customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal data, the National Police Agency said. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayInterpark did not learn of the breach until July 11, when it received an anonymous message threatening to publicize the personal data leak unless it paid the price equivalent to $2.6 billion in Korea's currency of the South, the won. After the attack was reported, thousands of Interpark customers threatened to sue for damages. Most of the customers whose data was stolen were South Korean. The National Police Agency on Thursday blamed the attack on the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, North Korea's main spy agency. It said the intrusion used some of the same codes and Internet Protocol addresses as previous digital breaches attributed to the North. The message sent to Interpark also used vocabulary specific to the North Korean dialect, the police agency said. The United States placed the intruder on the General Bureau of Reconnaissance blacklist after North Korean hackers were accused of breaking into Sony Pictures' computer network in 2014. It was unclear Thursday whether and how the hackers exploited the stolen data , if not for blackmail purposes. But it showed that the North, whose access to hard currency has been hampered by sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, was “using computer hacking technology to try to steal the property of our people in a criminal act aimed at earning currency foreign,” police said in a statement. South Korea has blamed the North for a series of online attacks against banks, government websites and media companies since 2008. In March, its intelligence agency told lawmakers that North Korea had hacked into phones cell phones of 40 national security officials. Keep in mind: This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The North has denied that accusation. In May, researchers working for digital security firm Symantec said they had found a potential link between North Korea and a recent wave of digital breaches of Asian banks, including one against Bangladesh's central bank in February that resulted in the theft of over 81 million dollars. They said the intrusions appear to be the first known case of a nation using digital attacks for profit.