JoongAng’s cyberattack puts gov’t on defensive

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JoongAng’s cyberattack puts gov’t on defensive

In the aftermath of the massive cyberattack on the JoongAng Ilbo¡¯s Internet news site and database servers, the government is beefing up defenses against malicious hacking.

The Cyber Command for Ministry of National Defense said it is in the process of promoting the commander from brigadier general to major general.
"In an effort to respond to cyberterrorism, which is emerging as a new threat to national security, we launched a plan to expand the command," a high-ranking military source told reporters on Sunday.
"Along with the promotion of the commander, we are planning to bulk up the size of the organization," the source said. "We are reviewing a plan to increase the number of officials in the command, which is currently about 500, up to 1,000."

The government¡¯s measures came after a string of cyberattacks, the latest of which was Saturday¡¯s assault on the JoongAng Ilbo¡¯s news site and servers, which are shared by the Korea JoongAng Daily. The attack severely disrupted production at the two newspapers. Servers that store and route articles, photos and page layouts were destroyed.

Suspicions are rising that the attack on the JoongAng Ilbo will be traced to North Korea, like similiar ones in 2009 and 2011. Pyongyang previously warned it would wage a "sacred war" against newspaper and broadcasting companies in Seoul.
"North Korea has a so-called 'cyber bureau' under the North Korean army's Reconnaissance Bureau," a Unification Ministry official told the Korea JoongAng Daily. " They have approximately 3,000 cyberterrorists."

By Kim Hee-jin[heejin@joongang.co.kr ]
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