U.S. penetrated North Korean networks long before Sony attack ′북 침투′ NSA에 &quo скачать в хорошем качестве

U.S. penetrated North Korean networks long before Sony attack ′북 침투′ NSA에 &quo

U.S. intelligence apparently has been tapping into North Korea′s computer networks to track down North Korean hackers,.... long before the North hacked into Sony Pictures. If this is true, then some are asking, why wasn′t it able to prevent the hack attack on Sony? Here′s our Kim Hyun-bin. The U.S. National Security Agency has exploited North Korea′s computer systems since 2010 in a top-secret cyber operation conducted with the help of South Korea and other U.S. allies. A report published in The New York Times on Monday says the American spy agency probed Chinese networks that connect North Korea to the outside world, getting direct access into the North. The paper quotes officials who say malware was placed in Pyongyang′s computer systems so the NSA could track networks and computers used by North Korean hackers, a force the South Korean military estimates at roughly 6-thousand. Most are controlled by Pyongyang′s main intelligence service, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, and Bureau 121, a covert hacking unit that has a large outpost in China. Before the Sony case, the United States had never directly accused another country of launching a cyber attack on it. Senior military officials say the evidence gathered through the software and presented to President Barack Obama left him "no doubt" that Pyongyang was responsible. One former U.S. official said that when the U.S. first gained access to the North′s computer networks, it was mainly focused on the North′s nuclear program and its leadership, as well as direct military threats to the U.S. and Seoul. But the surveillance program was expanded after a destructive attack on South Korea′s banks and media companies in 2013. The story is now raising questions among experts in the U.S. about why, according to one source, American intelligence agencies "couldn′t really understand the severity" of the situation, given the time they′d spent inside the North′s computer networks, and why they weren′t able to warn Sony about the attack. Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.