Meet South Korea’s ‘army’ of cyberwarriors in training to combat the hacking threat from Pyongyang
South Korean police claim the North hacked into more than 140,000 computers at 160 South Korean companies and government agencies.
In one college major at Seoul’s elite Korea University, the courses are known only by number, and students keep their identities a secret from outsiders.
The Cyber Defence curriculum, funded by the defence ministry, trains young keyboard warriors who get a free education in exchange for a seven-year commitment as officers in the army’s online warfare unit – and its ongoing conflict with North Korea.
North and South Korea remain in a technical state of war since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in an armed truce. Besides Pyongyang’s nuclear and rocket programmes, South Korea says the North has a strong online army which it has blamed for a series of attacks in the past three years.
Becoming a cyberwarrior means devoting myself to serve my country
The cyberdefence programme at the university in Seoul was founded in 2011, with the first students enrolled the following year.
One 21-year-old student, who allowed himself to be identified only by his surname Noh, said he had long been interested in computing and cybersecurity and was urged by his father to join the programme. All South Korean males are required to serve in the military, usually for up to two years.
“It’s not a time burden but part of a process to build my career,” Noh said.
“Becoming a cyberwarrior means devoting myself to serve my country,” he said in a war room packed with computers and wall-mounted flat screens at the school’s science library.