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Wed, December 11, 2019 | 09:03
Defense
Is cyber attack an act of war?
오바마 "북한 테러지원국 재지정 검토"
Posted : 2014-12-22 17:06
Updated : 2014-12-22 20:37
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A soldier walks past a TV showing an advertisement for Sony Pictures' 'The Interview' at Seoul Station, Monday. / AP-Yonhap
A soldier walks past a TV showing an advertisement for Sony Pictures' "The Interview" at Seoul Station, Monday. / AP-Yonhap

Obama says not yet but experts disagree


By Yi Whan-woo

North Korea's alleged hack of Sony Pictures raises questions about whether state-sponsored cyber terror should be redefined as an act of war in the Internet era.

The United States has fallen short of calling it that but is facing a great deal of internal and external pressure to address the North's online attacks as bellicose behavior.

Experts predict that it is only a matter of time before cyber attacks are called a new form of warfare and dealt with as nothing short of being aggression that is tantamount to the accepted definition of war.

For U.S. President Barack Obama, such a cyber attack is still not seen as an act of war, although he accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) conclusion that Pyongyang was behind the hack.

"I think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly, very expensive," Obama said in an interview with CNN Sunday. He pointed out that the FBI on Friday accused North Korea of being responsible for breaking into the computer system of Sony Pictures, which Pyongyang previously denounced for its satirical film about North Korea called "The Interview."

The U.S. President, however, may re-consider his choice of words if the reclusive state targets U.S. government facilities.

Meanwhile, the Seoul government's joint investigation unit said Sunday that North Korea is on the list of its suspects in its probe into a leak of confidential information about two of the country's nuclear reactors — Gori 2 and Wolsong-1 — on the Internet.

A hacker on Saturday revealed manuals and designs of the two nuclear reactors run by the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. The information includes floor maps and plans for the air conditioning and cooling systems of the reactors.

According to critics, such a leak is expected to deal a blow to export-reliant South Korea's nuclear plant construction business overseas, including Argentina, Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

In the case of Sony Pictures, the company suffered a massive leak of private information about its employees and clips of unreleased films.

"A lot of military experts now see cyber terror has emerged as a new form of warfare," said Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network, a military think tank.

"For instance, South Korea and the U.S. have been running a cyber warfare command that is led by a general. In particular, that unit in Washington is led by a four-star general, signifying the growing importance of cyber terror as a part of war."

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense Security Forum (KODEF) agreed.

"Cyber attacks have become an effective means for a country to perplex its enemies before regular or other forms of traditional warfare begin," he said.

However, military experts were divided over Washington's move to put North Korea back on a list of states that sponsor terror, a designation lifted by the Bush administration in 2008.

According to Shin, Obama is on the "right track" in terms of his policy against cyber terror.

"I think Obama has suggested a new guideline to cope with cyber attacks and ways to deal with them.

"In the case of South Korea, we have suffered from financial damage rather than physical damage or human casualties when North Korea attacked us in the past."

In 2009, Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of Defense, the National Assembly as well as the country's media firms and commercial banks saw their websites slowed or crashed. It took time for those sites to regain services. The country's spy agency speculated the attacks appeared to have been carried out by North Korea or pro-North Korean groups.

"A number of our transportation, energy and other social infrastructure systems are controlled by computers," Shin said. "It's possible that hackers could cause two trains to collide or cut the gas supply in the winter, which obviously would cause mass casualties.

"It's critical to take preemptive measures against cyber terror to prevent such things from happening."

Kim Dae-young, a KODEF researcher, said the U.S. was "overreacting."

"North Korea already faces sanctions from the United Nations and other parts of international community," he said.

"Putting North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism will not make much difference unless the U.S. comes up with something more effective."

Yang agreed, saying, "A strong follow-up measure is needed if Washington intends to pressure Pyongyang by putting the regime on such a list."


오바마 "북한 테러지원국 재지정 검토"

2008년 해제 후 6년만에…오바마, 재검토 의견 첫 표명
'소니 해킹은 전쟁행위 아닌 사이버 반달리즘…비용·대가 크다'

버락 오바마 미국 대통령은 20일(현지시간) 소니 픽처스 해킹사건에 대한 후속대응의 일환으로 북한을 테러지원국으로 재지정하는 방안을 검토하겠다는 입장을 표명했다.

오바마 대통령은 이날 오전 미국 CNN으로 방영된 인터뷰에서 이같이 밝히고 '우리는 정해진 절차에 따라 검토할 것이며, 나는 어떤 검토결과가 나올지를 기다릴 것'이라고 말했다.

오바마 대통령이 취임 이후 북한의 테러지원국 재지정을 검토하겠다는 뜻을 표명한 것은 이번이 처음이다.

오바마 대통령은 '테러지원국 재지정에는 분명한 요건들이 있다'며 '우리는 매일 매일의 언론보도를 갖고 판단하지 않으며 시스템으로 검토하고 그 결과를 토대로 테러지원국 재지정을 검토할 것'이라고 밝혔다.

북한은 1987년 11월 김현희가 연루된 대한항공(KAL)기 폭파사건으로 이듬해 1월 테러지원국 명단에 올랐으나, 부시 행정부는 북한과의 핵검증 합의에 따라 2008년 11월 북한을 테러지원국 명단에서 삭제했다. 현재 미국에 의해 테러지원국으로 지정된 나라는 쿠바, 이란, 시리아, 수단 4개국이다.

현행 미국 연방법은 폭력과 물리적 공격이라는 전통적 개념의 국제 테러행위를 지속적으로 지원한 사실이 확인돼야 테러지원국으로 재지정할 수 있도록 규정하고 있어 재지정이 쉽지 않을 수도 있다는 분석이 제기되고 있다.

이와 관련해 한 외교소식통은 '사이버 테러는 국무부가 전통적으로 규정해온 테러의 개념에 포함돼 있지 않아 면밀한 법률적 검토가 필요하다'며 '그러나 테러지원국 재지정은 오바마 대통령의 정치적 판단으로 결정될 가능성이 크다'고 말했다.

국무부는 앞으로 테러지원국 재지정 요건과 절차, 국내외적 영향 등에 대한 종합적 검토작업을 거쳐 이를 금융제재를 비롯한 다른 대응방안과 함께 오바마 대통령에게 보고할 것으로 알려졌다. 오바마 대통령은 2주간 하와이에서 겨울휴가를 보낸 뒤 국무부로부터 검토결과를 공식 보고받고 이번 해킹사건의 후속대응 방안을 결정할 것으로 전해졌다.

오바마 대통령은 또 이번 사건을 '사이버 반달리즘'(사이버 무기를 이용해 문화·예술 및 공공시설을 파괴하는 행위)으로 규정하고 '비용과 대가가 매우 크며 우리는 이것을 심각하게 받아들이고 있다'고 지적했다. 그는 그러나 '이번 해킹공격을 전쟁 행위라고 생각하지 않는다'고 말했다.

소니가 영화 '인터뷰' 개봉을 취소한 데 대해서는 '소니 측이 나에게 직접적으로 말했다면 나는 영화 상영관들과 배포업자들에게 전화해 부탁했을 것'이라고 말했다.

오바마 대통령은 이어 '우리가 사이버 해커들에 의해 위협당하지 않을 것이라는 점을 분명히 해야할 문제'라며 '지금 중요한 표현의 자유 원칙이 위기에 놓여 있다'고 지적했다.

그는 '만일 외국의 독재자가 사이버 공격을 통해 영화사의 배급망과 상품을 파괴하고 그 결과로 우리가 스스로 검열하는 선례가 생긴다면 그것은 문제'라고 말했다.

그는 이어 미국 의회에 사이버 안보관련 법안을 통과시켜줄 것을 촉구했다.

피?오바마 대통령은 쿠바와의 국교정상화 추진에 따라 관타나모 기지 내의 수감시설을 폐쇄하기 위해 '할 수 있는 모든 일을 다하겠다'고 밝혔다.

오바마 대통령은 우크라이나 사태와 관련, '블라디미르 푸틴 러시아 대통령에게 외교적으로 허를 찔린 것 아니냐'는 질문에 대해 '푸틴 대통령은 우크라이나 사태에 따라 루블화 가치 하락과 주요 금융위기, 그리고 커다란 경제적 위축을 초래하고 있다'고 지적했다. (연합뉴스)
Emailyistory@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
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