N. Korea’s hacking of S. Korean military cyber command

Servers of the Military Cyber Command of South Korea have been hacked by North Korea. In September this year, the National Defense Ministry found that some PCs containing classified military information were infected, while inspecting new malicious codes on the "vaccine transmission server" in charge of 20,000 PCs for internet access by the army, the navy and the armed forces. The hacker’s IP address was Shenyang, China, where many North Korean hackers are operating, and malicious codes are also similar to those used by the North. The headquarters of South Korea’s cyber warfare has been penetrated hopelessly for the first time since the command’s establishment in 2010, stoking concern about national security.

In the parliamentary inspection of the government in October, Byeon Jae-seon, commander of the Military Cyber Command, said that chances for hacking are low because the military intranet is separated from the internet network, which is linked to the outside world, but his judgment was ill-advised. For the past two months, the military has not learned of details of leaked information nor found out the origin of the hacking attack. If core intelligence such as military operation plans were hacked from computers used by the top echelons of the South Korean military, the military would have to completely change its military operation plans.

Up until 2004, Pyongyang’s cyberattacks targeted at websites or emails of South Korean organizations. After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un nurtured more than 60,000 cyber warriors, which is about 10 times that of South Korea, the North has launched provocations targeting South Korea’s core institutions, ranging from state infrastructure to government agencies, media organizations and financial institutes. Since its fourth nuclear test in January, the North has been even publicizing the existence of its hacker unit, and attempted targeted hacking of a certain group of people, as its hacking is getting bold.

The National Security Council under the presidential office is the control tower of national cyber security. The Cyber Command has been hacked when national anxiety is rising due to the Choi Soon-sil gate, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin has not appeared in public. While inspecting the North’s artillery unit’s drills several days ago, Kim Jong Un said, “Let’s sweep South Koreans.” The South Korean military leadership should make watertight response in this time of emergency.

angelhuh@donga.com