North Korea Trains Hackers

Although the digital divide between South Korea and North Korea is probably the deepest such chasm in the world, the North Korean military has trained hundreds of hackers, some of whom have used their skills in an effort to undermine the South Korean military.  According to an article in today's Chosun Ilbo English edition, a North Korean spyware e-mail was reportedly transmitted to the computer of a colonel at a field army command via China in early August. The e-mail contained a typical program designed automatically to steal stored files if the recipient opens it. It has not been confirmed whether military secrets were leaked as a result of the hacking attempt, but their scale could be devastating given that the recipient is in charge of the South Korean military's central nervous system -- Command, Control, Communication, Computer & Information (C4I). South Korea's Defense Ministry believes that the skills of 500 to 600 North Korean hackers are on a par with those of CIA experts. In 1999, the department said it traced frequent cyber visitors and found that North Korea topped the list.