7 Sticky Fingers Kim and Co



7

Kim Jong-un and company are at it again.  This time critical military contingency plans were lifted by North Korean hackers in September of last year!  How’s that for military OpSec!?  The leak, which consisted of 235 gigabytes data, has not yet been fully identified.  So far, only about 80 percent of the data is known and it is clear that the ramifications of this breach have already been felt.  Increasing tension with North Korea is more than likely an outcome of this.  A “decapitation” plan, which is said to include the blueprint to remove Kim Jong-un from power should war break out on the peninsula, was also compromised.

As confirmed by one of the members of the defense committee of the National Assembly, 300 lower-classification confidential documents were stolen (Sang-Hun, 2017).  Other lawmakers like Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun and Pentagon spokesman Col. Robert Manning, have not been so forthcoming with information about the breach.  This comes as no surprise due to the historically tight-lipped nature of government bureaucrats.

When first discovered, anonymous South Korean sources stated that the stolen data contained wartime contingency strategies.  However, as is now confirmed by Mr. Rhee of the defense committee, we can see this to be true.  And it still remains unclear as to how this breach has undermined joint preparedness between the U.S. and South Korean allies.

The plan to remove Kim Jong-un has been rewritten since the breach and with the North’s sixth, and most powerful missile test in the most recent months, it is clear that this plan may be put into action sooner than expected.

Whatever the plan of action is between the Trump administration and North Korea is, one thing is evident, there needs to be a more focused effort to deter any and all hacking efforts from the North.  Continued breaches into military networks from external threats will only serve to devalue efforts aimed at protecting the world from full scale nuclear war.  The threat affects everyone and is very real.  My hope is that a concerted effort is mounted in order to better protect all of us in the future.

References

Sang-Hun, C. (2017, October 10). North Korean Hackers Stole U.S.-South Korean Military Plans, Lawmaker Says. Retrieved from NYTIMES.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/world/asia/north-korea-hack-war-plans.html


    

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