Unification Ministry to open security center to cope with cyber attacks

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- The Unification Ministry said Friday that it plans to open a cyber security center, as Seoul is strengthening security to cope with possible attacks from North Korea and other hackers.
The center will be used to detect signs of cyber attacks in cooperation with other agencies before hackers cripple computer networks and steal sensitive information, the ministry said.
There have been outside attempts to hack into the ministry's computer network, a ministry official said. He declined to elaborate on whether any information had been compromised, and asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to media.
Most other government ministries have put in place similar cyber security centers to swiftly respond to potential cyber attacks.
The latest move comes a month after South Korea accused North Korea of waging a cyber attack that paralyzed the network of a major local bank. The North has denied the accusation.
The North is also believed to have launched cyber attacks on South Korea's major government and corporate Web sites in March and July of 2009.
South Korean intelligence officials believe the North runs a 1,000-person cyber warfare unit.