|
It has been officially confirmed for the first time that North Korea is using military hacking units to gather information in South Korea.
Lt. Gen. Song Yong-keun, commander of the Defense Security Command, said in an opening address of a conference on national defense information protection that, "On orders from National Defense Commission chairman Kim Jong-il, North Korea is operating a crack unit of hackers, and is strengthening its cyber-terror capabilities, collecting information from South Korean national bodies and research institutions through hacking." The DSC said last year that North Korea was training about 100 specialized hackers a year, but this is the first time the existence of a hacker unit or its information collection activities has been officially confirmed.
Song also said, "North Korea, through websites it directly operates or pro-North websites abroad, is strengthening its cyber-offensive, conveying guidelines for the struggle like issuing regime propaganda, condemning the "main enemy idea" (South Korea's designation of North Korea as the primary enemy) and calling for the withdrawal of USFK.
The SDC judges North Korean hacking skills to be good as those of the U.S. CIA, and is pursuing the establishment of a dedicated body to counter attempts to attack information and a system of cooperation between those bodies responsible for information protection. The SDC said North Korea directly operates eight websites, including "Uriminzokkiri" (www.uriminzokkiri.com), and there are 26 pro-North websites abroad, including the Voice of National Salvation (http://ndfsk.dyndns.org).
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
