Active pursuit of nuclear weapons by North Korea is widely recognized as a threat to peace and stability Asia, but its investments in cyber warfare and other asymmetric capabilities are also considerable.
North Korea regularly hacks South Korean computers, and the bulk of its cyberattacks appear to be email hacks, says the Yonhap News Agency.
Roughly 86 percent of North Korean cyberattacks on the South Korean military in 2015 were email attacks, according to data collected by South Korean Representative Joo Kwang-Deok.
Seoul detected 74 email-linked cyberattacks on the South Korean military originating from Pyongyang last year. The data shows that 12 of the attacks involved malicious codes. North Korea carried out 43 attacks on South Korean systems in July, and 27 of those attacks were email hacks.
In the past, North Korean hacks often targeted webpages. A rise in the number of attacks on South Korean military systems indicate that Pyongyang may be attempting to acquire confidential military information.
North Korean aggression in cyberspace is not strictly limited to the military though. Earlier this year, South Korea revealed that North Korean hackers broke into 140,000 computers at 160 South Korean companies. After the breaches were discovered, experts suspected that the North was utilizing malicious code in preparation for a much larger attack.
“There is the possibility that the North aimed to cause confusion on a national scale by launching a simultaneous attack after securing many targets of cyber terror, or intended to continuously steal industrial and military secrets,” South Korea’s police cyber investigation unit explained.
North Korean hackers hit South Korean banks in 2013 and crippled their computer systems for more than a week.
Pyongyang has denied any involvement in cyber crime.
While much of North Korea’s military technology is outdated, its cyber warfare capabilities are actually quite advanced. “While I would not characterize them as the best in the world, they are among the best in the world and the best organized,” Gen. Vincent Brooks told the Senate Committee on Armed Services in April.
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