http://www.dw.de/north-korea-cyber-army-double-the-size-previously-thought/a-18173646
Cyber Attack
North Korea cyber army 'double the size previously thought'
The ranks of North Korea's cyber army are far bigger than had been thought, according to South Korea. Seoul says Pyongyang, recently blamed for a cyber attack on Sony Pictures, wants to be able to 'paralyze' the South.
North Korean nuclear researcher (Photo: Yonhap)
South Korea's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the North had twice as many people working in its cyber warfare cell - named Bureau 121 - as previously thought.
The ministry said the department, which is run by some of the country's most talented computer experts, may be targeting South Korea's telecoms and energy networks. It said the country also appeared to be targeting other rival nations, as well as dissidents living abroad.
While former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said in 2013 that North Korea had a cyberwarfare staff of 3,000, the new report as part of a government white paper puts the number at double that amount.
"North Korea is currently running its 6,000 (-member) workforce for cyber warfare and performing cyber attacks for physical and psychological paralysis inside South Korea such as causing troubles for military operations and national infrastructures," the ministry said.
Angered by film assassination
Pyongyang has denied recent allegations that it hacked into Sony Pictures Entertainment, the company that made controversial comedy movie "The Interview," and broke into tens of thousands of confidential emails and business files. North Korea was said to have been incensed by the production and distribution of the film, which shows the fictional assassination of the country's leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has denied having any involvement in the cyber attack and condemned subsequent US sanctions against it, claiming that Washington was "groundlessly stirring up bad blood" towards it. However, it has called the cyber attack "a righteous act."
The US last Friday sanctioned 10 North Korea government officials and three organizations, including Pyongyang's primary intelligence agency.
rc/sgb (AP, Reuters)
Cyber Attack
North Korea cyber army 'double the size previously thought'
The ranks of North Korea's cyber army are far bigger than had been thought, according to South Korea. Seoul says Pyongyang, recently blamed for a cyber attack on Sony Pictures, wants to be able to 'paralyze' the South.
North Korean nuclear researcher (Photo: Yonhap)
South Korea's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the North had twice as many people working in its cyber warfare cell - named Bureau 121 - as previously thought.
The ministry said the department, which is run by some of the country's most talented computer experts, may be targeting South Korea's telecoms and energy networks. It said the country also appeared to be targeting other rival nations, as well as dissidents living abroad.
While former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said in 2013 that North Korea had a cyberwarfare staff of 3,000, the new report as part of a government white paper puts the number at double that amount.
"North Korea is currently running its 6,000 (-member) workforce for cyber warfare and performing cyber attacks for physical and psychological paralysis inside South Korea such as causing troubles for military operations and national infrastructures," the ministry said.
Angered by film assassination
Pyongyang has denied recent allegations that it hacked into Sony Pictures Entertainment, the company that made controversial comedy movie "The Interview," and broke into tens of thousands of confidential emails and business files. North Korea was said to have been incensed by the production and distribution of the film, which shows the fictional assassination of the country's leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has denied having any involvement in the cyber attack and condemned subsequent US sanctions against it, claiming that Washington was "groundlessly stirring up bad blood" towards it. However, it has called the cyber attack "a righteous act."
The US last Friday sanctioned 10 North Korea government officials and three organizations, including Pyongyang's primary intelligence agency.
rc/sgb (AP, Reuters)
