
Martins Coffee Shop in South Korea closes amid ‘major cyber threat’
Martins is closing its doors in Seoul amid a “major cyber attack” and a “massive attack” against its computer system, the owner said in a statement posted on its website.
Martins said it will not reopen until the company’s network is up and running again.
The news comes as South Korea’s government said it is working with South Korean intelligence to “counter the cyber attacks” that disrupted online services and forced some retailers to close, and as a U.S. lawmaker urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “bring all the powers of the U.K. and the U,S.
to Seoul.”
South Korea’s cybersecurity chief said last week that he had “determined that the attackers behind this massive cyber attack are attempting to disrupt our systems and to disrupt the operations of the company.”
The U.L.T. website said that the attack occurred on Feb. 26 and lasted “several days,” citing “severals different sources,” but that the details were “still not clear.”
Martins, which is based in Seoul, said it was working to “restore services” on Feb 7.
The company also posted on Facebook that the company had suspended its online banking service and that it would be “taking measures to prevent the disruption to our customers.”
A spokesman for Martins did not respond to a request for comment.
The South Korean government has said it has detained six hackers linked to the North, including one who has been described as a top hacker for the Pyongyang-based country.
South Korea has also been hit by cyberattacks in recent months, including the theft of data from Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the release of a U,N.
report that blamed the North for the hacking of Sony Pictures.