Posted on 10/03/2004 9:24:05 PM PDT by HAL9000
SEOUL, Oct 4 (AFP) - North Korea has trained more than 500 computer hackers capable of launching cyber warfare against the United States, South Korea's defense ministry said Monday.In a report to the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, the ministry said that hackers from the impoverished Stalinist state were among the best in the world.
"North Korea's intelligence warfare capability is estimated to have reached the level of advanced countries," the report said, according to Yonhap news agency.
The military hackers had been put through a five-year university course training them to penetrate the computer systems of South Korea, the United States and Japan, the report added. Their goal, it said, was to gather intelligence or to launch a cyber attack.
Ealier this year sensitive South Korea computer systems came under attack from abroad, according to intelligence reports.
The attacks were considered a serious threat to national security, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in July.
The spy agency said the spate of cyber-attacks in June and July were launched from China but it was unable to say whether they were launched by Chinese nationals or nationals from a third country using China-based computers.
The hackers broke into 211 computers at 10 government agencies in South Korea including defense and security-related agencies. National Assembly computers were also targetted as were computers at private companies, universities and media firms.
"We believe the hackers are either Chinese or used China as a base for their attacks," an official at the National Cyber Security Center, attached to the national spy agency, said in July.
The best hackers leave no tracks.
If they get too out of line their country can simply be disconnected from the Internet. Everything in and out is either by wire, terrestrial radio or satellite.
Not much they can do about it either except leave the country. And those who leave probably won't come back...
Oh, no. North Korean hackers using high tech, sophisticated cyber attacks. Why do I get the feeling that their 'cyber attacks' are about as cutting edge as 'Pong'.
In their wild dreams.
This doesn't really scare me.
ping.
No contest.
If we give the word, we could turn loose a few hundred thousand of our 16 year old amateur hackers. They'd love it and do it for free.
LOL. Maybe they'll unleash the Melissa virus.
500 hackers ain't squat. We've probably got more than that in most High Schools here. They don't want to start a cyber war with our huge army. :)
Cyber war?
I don't think so. We'd simply pull their Internet plug. Bye-bye...
thanks Jet -g-
Imperialist dogs! Feel the might of our 300 baud modems, and despair!
They have a computer?
THIS IS A NORTH KOREAN VIRUS.
IMMEDIATELY DELETE EVERYTHING ON YOUR C DRIVE.
ALL HAIL THE POT-BELLIED CHIA DOLL.
THAT IS ALL.
Yeah, but will the virus work on VGA monitors?
About 18 months ago we had a server compromised by a hacker out of North Korea. Never underestimate your enemy.
Sure they do, that is, the few hours a day they have power...
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