North Korea strengthening its cyberweapons for large-scale attacks, new report warns
The North might be behind the times with most technology, but it has spent a huge amount of time and money building a cyberarmy capable of outsmarting more advanced countries
North Korea is quietly expanding both the scope and sophistication of its cyberweaponry, laying the groundwork for more devastating attacks, according to a new report published on Tuesday.
Kim Jong-un’s cyberwarriors have been accused of causing huge disruption in recent years, including being blamed for the massive hack on Sony Pictures in 2014 and last year’s WannaCry ransomware worm, as well as umpteen attacks on South Korean servers.
Now it appears that North Korea has also been using previously-unknown holes in the internet to carry out cyberespionage – the kinds of activities that could easily metamorphose into full-scale attacks, according to a report from FireEye, the California-based cybersecurity company.
Although the North Korean regime bans the internet for ordinary citizens and is decidedly behind the times with most technology, it has funnelled a huge amount of time and money into building a cyberarmy capable of outsmarting more technologically advanced countries like South Korea.
“Our concern is that this could be used for a disruptive attack rather than a classic espionage mission, which we already know that the North Koreans are regularly carrying out,” said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis for FireEye.
