NK uses hacking as asymmetric warfare

By Chung Min-uck

North Korea considers computer hacking a key strategic weapon of choice, analysts said Thursday.

“Such cyber attacks on our TV stations and banks can disrupt society and prompt fear in its members,” said Lim Jong-in, chief director of the Center for Information Security Technologies at Korea University. “Previous provocations, such as shelling Yeonpyong island brought criticism from the international community, leading to unwelcome sanctions. If the North actually carried out the latest attack, it could be said that North Korea is resorting to a cyber war that is as devastating as bombardment but those attacked would find it harder to find the perpetrator.”

“Cyber attacks are carried out under long-term elaborate schemes and are not a single act,” Lim said. “As in the 2009 DDoS (distributed denial of service) case, there could be a secondary attack soon.”

Other researchers claim the North orchestrated the attack.

“North Korea has carried out a series of cyber attacks on important infrastructure in previous cases,” said a researcher at the state-run Korea Internet Security Agency, asking for anonymity, Thursday. “Although the latest case still needs close analysis, it is highly likely the North masterminded the attack.”

The government has accused Pyongyang of being behind cyber attacks on the websites of government agencies and financial institutions over the past few years.

In June 2012, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper came under an attack that crippled its server and website. The National Police Agency later determined that North Korea was responsible for the attack.

NongHyup Bank’s computer networks also crashed in September 2010, apparently under attack from the North, according to prosecutors and police.

Pyongyang is also suspected of carrying out DDoS attacks on the websites of South Korea’s government institutions, including Cheong Wa Dae, in 2009.

The North’s Central News Agency is believed to have hinted at imminent attacks last week, saying it would “not ignore” virus attacks allegedly made on its regime’s computers recently, for which it blamed the South.

The North has used Chinese Internet Protocol addresses (IPs) for cyber attacks in the past, according to experts, and Wednesday’s attacks were also found to have come from Chinese IPs.