Friday, December 19, 2014

Sony Hack may have been a practice run for something far worse

◼ North Korean defectors are saying that the hack of Sony may have been a practice run for the NoKo's real target; telecoms and energy grids. - Rick Moran/American Thinker

◼ For North Korea's cyber army, long-term target may be telecoms, utility grids - Reuters

Non-conventional capabilities like cyber-warfare and nuclear technology are the weapons of choice for the impoverished North to match its main enemies, they said.

Obsessed by fears that it will be over-run by South Korea and the United States, North Korea has been working for years on the ability to disrupt or destroy computer systems that control vital public services such as telecoms and energy utilities, according to one defector.


"North Korea's ultimate goal in cyber strategy is to be able to attack national infrastructure of South Korea and the United States," said Kim Heung-kwang, a defector from the North who was a computer science professor and says he maintains links with the community in his home country.

"The hacking of Sony Pictures is similar to previous attacks that were blamed on North Korea and is a result of training and efforts made with the goal of destroying infrastructure," said Kim, who came to the South in 2004.



◼ Feinstein: In Past 6 Years, ‘No Real Policy’ to Handle Sony-Style Attacks - PJ Media

The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said the hacking attack against Sony is part of a longer-running plot — and the administration has had “no real policy” to face such attacks....

“Now, right now, you can look at North Korea, taken off the terrorist list, you can see this attack is in a sense a terrorist attack. You could put them back on. You can levy financial sanctions against them,” Feinstein continued.



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