North Korea Suspected for Cyber Attacks in US and South Korea
North Korea, who has been threatening the US and firing missiles, was identified by the main spy agency in South Korea on Wednesday as a suspect in the cyber attacks that have targeted government websites and others in the US and South Korea. Although North Korea isn’t known for its superior computing abilities, experts say that attacks like this would be cheap and easy by hiring help from the outside.
The National Intelligence Service in South Korea told members of the parliament’s intelligence committee on Wednesday that Pyongyang is believed to be behind the attacks. The agency declined to give confirmation on the information provided by the aides who suspect the country, but they said that the sophistication of the cyber attacks suggest that they were done at a higher level than just individual or rogue hackers.
The attacks started in the US during the July 4 holiday and then in South Korea on Tuesday. They appeared to have been committed by hackers who were thoroughly prepared for their task. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence in who is responsible for the attacks or that North Korea ever made overt cyber threats. However, South Korean media reported previously that North Korea runs a cyber warfare unit that tries to hack into South Korean and US military networks in order to disrupt service and gather confidential information.
The suspicion that North Korea is responsible for the cyber attacks comes as they have engaged in a series of threats and actions that have been criticized by the international community. They have fired medium- and long-range missiles over Japan, carried out underground nuclear tests, and even threatened to ‘wipe out’ the US and its allies if they are provoked during the last few months since April.