USA Today tech blog: Computer attack may not have originated in North Korea after all

[Pete]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/technolog...-and-south-korean-web-sites-last-week-ma.html

"Having located the attacking source in the UK, we believe it is completely possible to find the hacker," says Minh Duc. "This depends on the US and South Korean governments." He said Bkis has turned over its findings to authorities in both nations.

Just because the master server was located in the UK doesn't mean the attackers were Brits. The human controller could be sitting at a keyboard anywhere in the world. However, Jayson E. Street, a cyber warfare consultant at security firm Netragard, says the attacks were more likely the work of a nation-state or perhaps mercenary hacker testing attack techniques, while purposely deflecting blame to North Korea.

Motive, opportunity, yada, yada.

 

[0zzy]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/technolog...-and-south-korean-web-sites-last-week-ma.html



Motive, opportunity, yada, yada.

Hackers are smart.

 

[Conza88]

North Korea doesn't have computers... they don't DO first world, nor even second world communication... for the precise reason they do not want the populace to see what "Freedom" is all about..

 

[Brassmouth]

North Korea doesn't have computers... they don't DO first world, nor even second world communication... for the precise reason they do not want the populace to see what "Freedom" is all about..

This.

I've been fascinated by North Korea for some time now. I've watched dozens of documentaries (from both sides of the spectrum) and read as much as I can from defector accounts.

To someone like me, who is relatively familiar with the DPRK (compared to 99% of other Americans, anyway), it's hilarious that the public thinks the DPRK was behind the cyberattacks. How!?! What few computers the State does have are from the 1980s! They bought newer ones you say? How would they learn how to hack websites that were encrypted and protected by 21st century capitalist-made protection software?

It's ridiculous. These people still listen to music with tape recorders! And those are the "rich" people!

 

[coyote_sprit]

North Korea's home page isn't even hosted in DPRK, it's hosted in Spain.

 

[misterx]

Big surprise. People are so gullible.

 

[Agent CSL]

Ugh.... Hackers can make themselves appear to be from anywhere. It's probably some 25 year old guy in an apartment in Ohio. Now he's laughing and jacking off uncontrollably to the mayhem.

 

[acptulsa]

Sometimes I think they shovel these intentional lies just to browbeat us into voluntarily choosing blissful ignorance...

 

[specsaregood]

Does anybody actually know any "computer people" that really believed that NK was the origin? Come on.

 

[dannno]

A big cyberattack requires computer expertise. "North Korea doesn't have the sophistication to conduct an attack like this," says Street.

Really??

I mean, ya, I remember hearing some sarcastic quips like this earlier...and I realize they don't have the sophistication for a nuke.. but they don't have the sophistication to launch a DOS attack??

I mean, not that I think they did it.. but they don't even have the capability for a DOS attack and we're really worried about nukes??

 

[Brassmouth]

Really??

I mean, ya, I remember hearing some sarcastic quips like this earlier...and I realize they don't have the sophistication for a nuke.. but they don't have the sophistication to launch a DOS attack??

Absolutely not. Like I said, they have computers from the 80s, and legions of half-starved bureaucrats who don't know how to use them. Socialism is a joke.

 

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

So, the North Koreans can develop nuclear bombs, but you put hacking past them?

 

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

Absolutely not. Like I said, they have computers from the 80s, and legions of half-starved bureaucrats who don't know how to use them. Socialism is a joke.

What's socialism have to do with anything?

 

[acptulsa]

What's socialism have to do with anything?

Good question.

Though socialist states have done it before, socialist states still can't develop nukes on their own because even though only governments buy them, it takes the power of a free market to do it, so North Korea must have bought the nuclear technology but couldn't have bought computer technology and couldn't have found a mercenary hacker to assist them either.

Huh?

 

[Brassmouth]

What's socialism have to do with anything?

 

[Agent CSL]

So, the North Koreans can develop nuclear bombs, but you put hacking past them?

They didn't develop nuclear weapons. Using = purchasing components =/= development.

 

[acptulsa]

They didn't develop nuclear weapons. Using = purchasing components =/= development.

The point being, if they can figure out how to obtain that, they can figure out how to obtain a Dell laptop and a greedy hacker.

Socialistic tyrants might not be able to figure out how to make a healthy economy, but they can figure out how to obtain power!

That said for the sake of argument, no I'm not too inclined to believe this attack originated there.

 

[Dark_Horse_Rider]

Yeah but does that even matter ? Now that 99% of America thinks they are under cyber attack from North Korea.

Was it just some hacker getting their kicks ?

Or another lie perpetrated by the U.S. disinfo misinfo machine ?

 

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I'm not saying I think North Korea did it, just saying I feel it's ignorant to say they don't even know how to use a computer so there's absolutely no possible way. You don't even need a new computer to hack, it's not like you need a high-speed graphics card or something.

 

[Brassmouth]

Good question.

Though socialist states have done it before, socialist states still can't develop nukes on their own because even though only governments buy them, it takes the power of a free market to do it, so North Korea must have bought the nuclear technology but couldn't have bought computer technology and couldn't have found a mercenary hacker to assist them either.

Huh?

I'm not denying that is theoretically possible for them to be responsible for the hacking.

But, given that they had to fly chefs from Italy into Pyongyang just so Kim's chefs could learn how to cook pizza, it would be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive for them to find a "mercenary hacker."

Next, we have the problem of motive. Why the hell would Kim Jong-il go from building atomic weapons of mass destruction, back to causing DOS attacks on a couple irrelevant websites? It makes no sense, especially given the nations almost nonexistent resources.

What does make sense is that the regime in Washington is presently trying to ram Internet control and regulation legislation down the throats of the American people. The Internet is the last beacon of free speech and dissent left in the empire. The State wants to destroy that.

Just like we were told Iraq had WMDs, now we're being told the evil North Koreans are all super-hackers who can wreckz teh Interwebs!!! O noezzzzz!!!11

So Big Brother will valiantly come to police the Internet to save us from the evil Asian commies and their cyber-wizardry.