S. Korea to set up cyber warfare command against N. Korean hackers

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to set up an independent cyber
warfare command by 2012 to deal with the increasing threat of attack against its
defense networks, an official said Friday.

The plans come amid growing concerns that North Korea is stepping up its capacity
to hack into South Korea's electronic defense systems in the event of a conflict.
According to defense sources, North Korea operates a cyber warfare unit that
specializes in hacking into South Korean and U.S. military networks to extract
information and assess their vulnerabilities.
The two Koreas remain technically at war with each other as their 1950-53 Korean
War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
The Defense Security Command, South Korea's military spy agency, "will lead the
establishment of the unit," the official said, declining to be named. "There have
been calls in the government that we should set up a separate unit that can
specialize in such operations."
Most attacks by North Korean hackers are believed to take place via China, which
has also been suspected of attempting to extract information from South Korean
government computers.
In May, South Korea and the United States forged a tentative agreement to bolster
cooperation in fighting cyber terrorism and participate in joint anti-hacking
exercises and conferences.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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