Korea Times June 03, 2004
Is South Korea Exaggerating NK Hacking Threat?
By Park Song-wu, Reuben Staines
South Korea's military intelligence agency is raising the specter of cyber attacks from North Korea even as the two countries enter high-level military talks to promote peace on the peninsula.
But according to foreign experts, although online terrorism from the North could pose a threat, Seoul's assessment of the reclusive nation's cyber warfare capability may be an overestimate.
John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, which maintains an online guide to North Korea's military, said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times that he would be surprised if the North did not operate a contingent of hackers.
``It is an obvious thing to do and is not that hard to do,'' Pike said. ``The North can build atomic bombs and long-range missiles. Computer hacking is easier than (making) an atomic bomb or a missile.''
He warned that South Korea is a good target for Pyongyang in cyberspace. ``South Korea is among the world's leading Internet countries, and so there are many computer networks the DPRK (North Korea) could hack,'' Pike said.
Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute, which published a study on North Korea's IT aspirations in 2002, echoed Pike's remarks.
``Clearly, there is an excellent programming capacity in the DPRK, including highly commercial and competitive capabilities,'' Hayes said in another e-mail interview. ``Obviously, the DPRK will be concerned both to counter cyber warfare directed at their intra-nets and to take the cyber-offensive during wartime. Thus, it would be prudent to assume that they have such a capacity.''
However, both experts rejected the claim by the Defense Security Command (DSC) of South Korea that Pyongyang's hacking unit is comparable to that of the CIA in the United States.
``This is an exaggeration since the DPRK is a small and poor country,'' Pike said.
Hayes also doubted that the North had such high-powered capabilities due to its closed culture, and its lack of technology, resources and applied experience.
``In a net assessment, cyber-warfare capabilities must be linked as a multiplier to other defensive and offensive capacities in which regard the DPRK is inferior in almost all respects,'' Hayes said. ``Thus, even if the DPRK has a cyber-warfare capacity, it is not likely to substitute for the other, fundamental deficiencies of the KPA (Korean People's Army).''
When questioned by The Korea Times, an officer at the DSC failed to give firm evidence supporting the agency's assessment that the North's hacking skills are comparable to those of the CIA.
``We can estimate it by putting together information from various sources, including media reports in the United States and Japan, as well as analyses by the state and defense departments of the United States,'' he said, declining to be named.
The DSC has also been unable to provide any examples of damage caused by North Korean hackers over the past few years.
``We can't confirm it,'' the officer said. But he added, ``South Korea should enhance its readiness by utilizing all possible means that can be engaged from the military, the government and civilians to deal with any possible cyber attacks from the North.''
Lt. Gen. Song Young-geun, chief of the DSC, alleged last week once again 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.
In May last year, the DSC made similar allegations but declined to give details of its intelligence.
© Copyright 2004, Korea Times
