North Korean cyber terrorism
North Korea has been in the news quite frequently the last few years. With the nuclear weapons inspections and then the successful test of a nuclear bomb, Kim Jong Il’s failing health, the suspecting proliferation of nuclear material, its long range missile program to its current spat…to a cyber terrorism attack launched against the United States and South Korea.
While the exact identities of the hackers who launched their assault on government Web sites will be unknown for quite some time, if ever, it has been made public that the IP addresses from the source of the attacks all originated within North Korea. This isn’t to say that the North Korean government is responsible, or even endorsed the attacks, but it also isn’t to say it is not.
With the situation in Pyongyang, from a strategical standpoint, it makes sense for it to explore possible avenues to wage war against larger and more developed countries that have the ability to convert a smaller country into a parking lot with the press of a button.
With that in mind, the attacks could be seen as a success, even though no lasting damage was done. It showed that the defenses of a country such as the United States ride on guns, missiles and military, while the interlocking web that connects and controls all these elements is vulnerable.
At the same time, it now proves to the think-tank in Washington that network defense may be just as important as a missile defense.
Rob @ July 9, 2009