KOREA: GNP suspects NK in cyber attacks

Kim Hyong-o, secretary general of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), raised a suspicion on Friday that North Korea's hacking unit could be involved in the recent cyber attacks against public institutions in South Korea

The Korea Times
Friday, July 16, 2004

By Park Song-wu

Kim Hyong-o, secretary general of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), raised a suspicion on Friday that North Korea's hacking unit could be involved in the recent cyber attacks against public institutions in South Korea.

His remarks came a day after the nation's top military intelligence agency said it does not rule out the possibility of a Northern connection with Chinese hackers who had broken into computers in 10 South Korean government institutions.

"The Defense Security Command (DSC) revealed in the past that North Korea is training hackers in its military," Kim said at the party's steering committee meeting. "If the unit is engaged in hacking us, it is a serious problem."

The National Intelligence Service confirmed Wednesday that a total of 278 computers in 10 public agencies, including the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, were infected by two kinds of information-stealing programs that were attached to e-mails sent from China with friendly Korean titles such as "Spring is coming."

The spy agency said the next day that one of the Chinese hackers is enrolled in a Korean language class at a foreign language school in China that has been run by the Chinese People's Liberation Army since 1986.

It is not yet confirmed whether the college-level school granted admissions to North Koreans.

"I think the government should define the current situation as a cyber invasion and prepare all available measures to protect the country from hackers, but it seems like the government is not doing its job at all," Kim said.

Describing South Korea as a "playground" for international hackers, Kim urged the government to nurture its own "cyber sheriff."

Lt. Gen. Song Young-geun, chief of the DSC, alleged in late May that a hacking unit had been set up under orders from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and is under operation to steal a wide range of information from South Korean government agencies and research bodies. The DSC, however, was unable to provide any examples of damage caused by North Korean hackers.

Date Posted: 7/16/2004