Cyber-attack By North Korea As Summit Approaches

North Korean hackers have escalated their operations and unveiled brand new capabilities. “Call it a kind of cyber-missile test,” says one cybersecurity expert, who thinks the North Koreans are demonstrating the improvements they have made in the last two years as that nation’s summit with the U.S. approaches. Their cyber capabilities are still inferior to Russia’s, China’s and Israel’s, but their notable progress coupled with the country’s willingness to execute attacks when motivated by geopolitical events make Pyongyang especially threatening. Last month researchers at McAfee said that a hacking campaign they had been tracking had widened to critical infrastructure, financial and telecommunications targets in 17 different countries. Initially the focus was on Turkey’s financial sector, but after security researchers identified it publicly in March, the hackers expanded the operation to targets in the U.S. and Europe. North Korea’s hackers made international news in 2014 when an attack on Sony Pictures resulted in a huge amount of confidential data being posted online. The hack was retaliation over a Sony-backed comedy depicting an assassination plot against Kim Jong Un.