South Korean defense firms are stepping up efforts to fight hacking, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, following a news report that North Korea stole secret information on submarine-based missile launch technology from a company here.

Among 99 defense firms in the South, around 70 percent are preparing to separate their internal networks from outside web services, the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said, citing data compiled in early July.

"The remaining companies are also making relevant plans," he added at a press briefing.
 

Moon pointed out that cyber attacks are frequent in South Korea.

The ministry is working together with relevant authorities to strengthen the "systemic protection and management" of arms-related technology and information, he added.

Earlier in the day, a South Korean newspaper reported that the North seems to have hacked into a local defense firm's network and taken information on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which includes "cold launch" technology.

The company, whose name was withheld, was subject to a cyber attack in May last year, and that attack is believed to be linked with the North.

The official said he could not comment on an issue related to military intelligence. (Yonhap)